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Chronicles

Yves Saint Laurent - Pierre Bergé, A Moroccan Passion

Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurent in the Jardin Majorelle, Marrakech, 1980s. Photograph by Didier Fèvre.
© Didier Fèvre - DR
Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurent in the Jardin Majorelle, Marrakech, 1980s. Photograph by Didier Fèvre.
© Didier Fèvre - DR

Yves Saint Laurent - Pierre Bergé, A Moroccan Passion

Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé visited Morocco for the first time in 1966. They enjoyed many happy moments in Marrakech and usually traveled there a few times each year. Saint Laurent drew inspiration from Morocco for his collections. He and Bergé remained actively involved in making a positive contribution to the country. The renowned Jardin Majorelle and the musée YVES SAINT LAURENT marrakech both attest to their “Morrocan passion”.


Chapter 1

The Miracle of Marrakech

Map of Marrakech in 1930, Guide bleu Maroc, Fonds Hachette, 1930.
Map of Marrakech in 1930, Guide bleu Maroc, Fonds Hachette, 1930.

Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurent first arrived in Marrakech in February 1966. They stayed at La Mamounia, which was a dilapidated luxury hotel at the time and not the lavish property it is now. The couple liked its unpretentious charm. It rained nonstop during the first few days of their visit. 

Hotel de la Mamounia, Marrakech., © Droits Réservés
Hotel de la Mamounia, Marrakech.
© Droits Réservés
One morning we awake and the sun had appeared. A Moroccan sun that probes every recess and corner. The birds were singing, the snow capped Atlas Mountains blocked the horizon, and the perfume of jasmine rose to our room. We would never forget that morning, since in a certain way, it decided our destiny.
Pierre Bergé, A Moroccan Passion

Bergé and Saint Laurent left with the deed of sale for Dar el-Hanch, their first home in Morocco. 

Chapter 2

Dar el-Hanch

Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurent acquired their first house in the medina. It was named Dar el-Hanch, Arabic for the “Snake’s House.” The couturier drew a large snake on the wall of their dining room. Snakes also adorned the letters and greeting cards he sent his friends. 

Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé in the dining room with the snake painted by the couturier, Villa dar el Hanch, Marrakech, 1960s., © Droits réservés
Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé in the dining room with the snake painted by the couturier, Villa dar el Hanch, Marrakech, 1960s.
© Droits réservés
Dar el-Hanch was a small house which we decorated modestly with tables and chains found in the souks. The house bordered a vacant parcel of land which was called the 'Lemon Garden', behind which an alley was led to the Bab Doukkala mosque. We spent many happy moments in this house.
Pierre Bergé, A Moroccan Passion

Chapter 3

The Revelation of Color

Yves Saint Laurent was born in Oran, Algeria, in 1936. When he rediscovered North Africa thirty years later, he rediscovered the region’s particular light and the color it revealed. Morocco became an endless source of inspiration for Saint Laurent. He would go their twice a year—in December and June—to design his collections, which were subsequently dominated by color.

Once I grew sensitive to light and colors, I especially noticed the light on colors … , on every street corner in Marrakech, you encounter astonishingly vivid groups of men and women, which stand out in a blend of pink, blue, green, and purple caftans.
Yves Saint Laurent

Chapter 4

Talitha, Loulou, Andy, and Friends

Yves Saint Laurent and Betty Catroux, Marrakech, 1970s., © Droits Réservés
Yves Saint Laurent and Betty Catroux, Marrakech, 1970s.
© Droits Réservés

During the swinging sixties, Marrakech went from being a sleepy town to one of the most festive places in the world. It did not have many bars, so people met up in the most beautiful homes—specifically at the residence of Paul and Talitha Getty, one of the first couples to move there. They invited many friends and eventually met Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé, who had established their own circle composed of the Gettys, Fernando Sanchez, Loulou de La Falaise, Andy Warhol, and Mick Jagger.

Chapter 5

Dar Es Saada

Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurentin their house Dar Es Saada, Marrakech, 1977. Photograph by Guy Marineau., © Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris / Guy Marineau
Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurentin their house Dar Es Saada, Marrakech, 1977. Photograph by Guy Marineau.
© Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris / Guy Marineau

In 1974, Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurent sold Dar el-Hanch to their friend Fernando Sanchez and acquired a house named Dar Es Saada, the “House of Happiness,” which was located in the Gueliz district near the Jardin Majorelle. 

They asked their architect friend Bill Willis to decorate it. Willis had also arrived in Marrakech in the 1960s, becoming the preferred decorator of the well-to-do, bohemian population with which he associated.


Bill Willis. He created the modern Moroccan design movement. All the decorators here were inspired by his work, and his influence can be seen in homes, palaces and hotels.
Pierre Bergé, A Moroccan Passion

Chapter 6

The Villa Oasis and the Jardin Majorelle

Villa Majorelle, Marrakech. Photograph by Nicolas Mathéus., © Nicolas Mathéus
Villa Majorelle, Marrakech. Photograph by Nicolas Mathéus.
© Nicolas Mathéus

In 1980, Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé learned that the Jardin Majorelle, which they often visited, was threatened by a real-estate development project. In order to rescue it from demolition, they decided to acquire it along with the adjoining villa.

The garden and villa had been dreamed up by Jacques Majorelle, son of the French cabinetmaker and decorator Louis Majorelle. Having become the owner of land in Marrakech, Jacques Majorelle had an Art Deco-style studio designed by the architect Paul Sinoir built on it in 1931. Over forty years, he also cultivated a garden there made up of plants from five continents.

Saint Laurent and Bergé put Bill Willis in charge of renovating the villa, which they called the “Villa Oasis.” They also asked him to decorate the atelier, in which they created a museum of Islamic art.

Villa Oasis

The Jardin Majorelle, which was redesigned by Madison Cox in 2000, is now one of the most visited sites in Morocco, counting nearly 800,000 visitors every year. 

Chapter 7

Tangier, “the City Extending a Hand to Europe”

Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurent at the Villa Mabrouka, Tangier, 1990s., © Droits Réservés
Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurent at the Villa Mabrouka, Tangier, 1990s.
© Droits Réservés

During their early years there, the couple visited the rest of the country, notably Tangier. In 1999, they ended up acquiring the Villa Mabrouka, the “House of Luck,” where they spent their summers far from the heat of Marrakech. 

Interior of the Villa Mabrouka, Tangier., © Droits réservés
Interior of the Villa Mabrouka, Tangier.
© Droits réservés
The theme was an excentric 1950s Englishman who had come to live in Tangier. Yves wanted chintz and one color per room: a blue room, a yellow, and so on. It was like decorating a house for characters out of a play by Tennessee Williams.
Jacques Grange, Les Paradis secrets d’Yves Saint Laurent et Pierre Bergé

Pierre Bergé also participated in saving the Librairie des Colonnes, Tangier’s cultural center, which was on the verge of closing in 2010. Artists and writers used to stay in this fascinating city, a former Mediterranean trading post. They included Henri Matisse, Samuel Beckett, Jean Genet, Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, William Burroughs, and Jimi Hendrix.

Librairie des colonnes, Tangier. Photograph by Nicolas Mathéus., © Nicolas Mathéus
Librairie des colonnes, Tangier. Photograph by Nicolas Mathéus.
© Nicolas Mathéus
I feel at home everywhere and am happy in every country, especially Tangier. It’s a multicultural city, where Morocco looks out over Spain and extends a hand to Europe.
Pierre Bergé

Chapter 8

A Collection of Berber Art

Early on, Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurent took an interest in Berber art. The Amazigh, or Berbers, are one of the oldest populations in Maghreb.

It took a long time for this culture to be recognized. In a speech on March 9, 2011, HM King Mohammed VI of Morocco spoke of “Berberity, the shared patrimony of all Moroccans.” Later that year in December, a museum devoted to Berber art replaced the museum of Islamic art in the painter’s former studio at the Jardin Majorelle. The six hundred objects on display there are all from the collection bequeathed by Bergé.  

Chapter 9

Honors

Pierre Bergé awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite by Mohammed VI of Morocco, Marrakech, December 22, 2016., © Balkis Press / ABACA
Pierre Bergé awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite by Mohammed VI of Morocco, Marrakech, December 22, 2016.
© Balkis Press / ABACA

Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé decided to create the Fondation Jardin Majorelle in 2001. It was recognized as a public utility ten years later. The foundation currently supports a number of cultural and educational organizations in addition to associations working to fight certain diseases.

In 2016, HM King Mohammed VI of Morocco awarded Bergé the Grand Cross of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite for eminent service to the Kingdom of Morocco.

Chapter 10

2017, an Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Marrakech

musée YVES SAINT LAURENT marrakech. Photograph by Nicolas Mathéus., © Nicolas Mathéus
musée YVES SAINT LAURENT marrakech. Photograph by Nicolas Mathéus.
© Nicolas Mathéus

In 2010, the Jardin Majorelle held the exhibition Yves Saint Laurent and Morocco in the painter’s atelier. It was a success. Pierre Bergé intended the exhibition to be Saint Laurent’s homage to Morocco and especially Marrakech, where he was deeply inspired by the residents, colors, and light.

The idea of a museum in this country that was so dear to Saint Laurent and Bergé began germinating. On October 19, 2017, the musée YVES SAINT LAURENT marrakech will open its doors near the Jardin Majorelle in a building designed by Studio KO. In addition to a room devoted to Yves Saint Laurent and conceived by Christophe Martin, it will be a cultural center composed of an exhibition space, an auditorium, and a library. 

Auditorium of the musée YVES SAINT LAURENT marrakech. Photograph by Nicolas Mathéus., © Nicolas Mathéus
Auditorium of the musée YVES SAINT LAURENT marrakech. Photograph by Nicolas Mathéus.
© Nicolas Mathéus
When Yves Saint Laurent discovered Marrakech in 1966, it was such a shock that he immediately decided to acquire a house and return on a regular basis. Fifty years later, it is therefore perfectly natural to build a museum there devoted to his work, which owed so much to this country.
Pierre Bergé