Those who find themselves on British soil this July are in for a treat – they will have the opportunity to experience the first ever major exhibition celebrating the life and works of famed European designer Yves Saint Laurent.
The Bowes Museum in Country Durham will showcase the exhibition, entitled Yves Saint Laurent: Style is Eternal, from July 11 to October 25. On display will be more than 50 of the esteemed designer’s most iconic and widely known pieces, as a tribute his illustrious and sparkling career. For many of these garments, it will be the first time being shown outside of Paris.
Saint Laurent’s former partner, Pierre Bergé, is responsible for creating the event. As head of the Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent, Bergé collaborated with the Bowes Museum to celebrate the accomplishments and success of Yves Saint Laurent’s forty years of creation. The foundation was created to protect and promote the history of the haute couture House of Yves Saint Laurent, which the pair opened together in 1962. The haute couture items being conserved by the foundation consists of 5,000 garments, 15,000 accessories, and more than 50,000 drawings and other items from throughout Saint Laurent’s career.
“The Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent is committed to the promotion of the work of Yves Saint Laurent internationally, and as such it is extremely exciting to work on this first exhibition in the UK,” said Bergé. “The Bowes Museum is a natural destination given its exceptional work with fashion and textiles; the museum and its location also clearly reflects Saint Laurent’s, and my own, passion for inspiring, timeless places. It is the perfect setting for us – a museum built as a French chateau, in the age of the Second Empire.”
Saint Laurent, born in Algeria, moved to Paris as a teenager and successfully made a place for himself alongside the legendary Christian Dior. He was known for empowering women through his creations of masculine pieces that also embraced their femininity. His partner, Pierre Bergé once stated, “Chanel gave women freedom. Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) gave them power.”
After a long fight with brain cancer, Yves Saint Laurent died in Paris in 2008.
Aleisha Gearside
