Throughout his long career, the great couturier Yves Saint Laurent forged close links with the arts and literature. Painters, writers, directors, filmmakers, visual artists ... nourished his imagination and inspired his finest creations.
To mark the 60th anniversary of the first fashion show of Yves Saint Laurent, six great Parisian museums (the Centre Pompidou, Musée du Louvre, Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, Musée d’Orsay, Musée National Picasso-Paris, and Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris) are simultaneously showing the tribute exhibition ‘Yves Saint Laurent at the museum’ amidst their permanent collections. The couturier's most emblematic pieces are displayed alongside works that inspired him. This event with a unique format reveals the many-faceted nature of the designer and offers a perspective on his artistic talent.
Showing from 29 January to 16 May 2022.
A witness to the artistic changes of the 20th century, Yves Saint Laurent took inspiration for his Haute Couture collections from the painters Piet Mondrian, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Georges Braque, Pierre Bonnard, Fernand Léger, Gay Hume … as well as leading artists of the American Pop Art movement Tom Wesselmann and Roy Lichtenstein. Using quotes from Yves Saint-Laurent, the Musée National d’Art Moderne highlights some of the designer's iconic pieces alongside paintings that influenced his creation.
Book your ticket for the Centre Pompidou
From 11am to 9pm. Closed on Tuesday and 1st May.
Centre Pompidou - Place Georges Pompidou, Paris 4th
Sensitive to the effects of colour, material and volume, Yves Saint-Laurent explored the work of the great Fauvist and Post-Impressionist masters and certain modern artists to create and shape his greatest models. In the collections of the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, the designer's cult pieces are displayed alongside works by artists such as Pierre Bonnard, Raoul Dufy, and Alain Jacquet which, each in their own way, sparked the designer’s creativity.
From 10am to 6pm. Closed on Monday.
Free admission to the permanent collections.
Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris - 11 avenue du Président Wilson, Paris 16th
The Galerie Apollon at the Musée du Louvre is showing a selection of exceptional garments created by Yves Saint Laurent, who enjoyed taking inspiration from stucco, antique marble, enamel, gems, ivory, and cameos. These priceless pieces showcase the meticulous work of French artisans who the couturier was so fond of. Not to be missed from among the sumptuous creations on display: the jacket Hommage à ma maison embroidered with gold and rock crystal, and the favourite heart-shaped jewellery of Yves Saint Laurent.
Book your ticket for the Musée du Louvre
From 9am to 6pm. Closed on Tuesday.
Booking of a time slot necessary.
Musée du Louvre - Pyramide du Louvre, Paris 1st
The Musée d'Orsay evokes Yves Saint Laurent’s fascination with the writer Marcel Proust and his world by focussing on the Proust Ball, given in 1971 by the Baron and the Baroness de Rothschild. The Salon de l'Horloge showcases dresses imagined by the couturier for this ball. A selection of dinner jackets, the designer's signature garments, which he continuously re-visited throughout his career, is also on display. In addition, the Cabinet d'Arts Graphiques shows a collection of drawings by Yves Saint-Laurent for the Proust Ball, as well as pastels done for the decor of the Bal des Têtes in 1957.
Book your ticket for the Musée d'Orsay
From 9.30am to 6pm. From 9.30am to 9.45pm Tuesday. Closed on Monday.
Musée d’Orsay - 1 rue de la Légion d'Honneur, Paris 7th
Yves Saint Laurent was so enthusiastic about the work of Pablo Picasso that he created two collections dedicated to the painter. In 1979, the couturier created the collection known as ‘A tribute to Picasso and Diaghilev’ in reference to the artist’s Blue and Rose Periods. Then, an exhibition in 1988 borrowed the codes of the artist's Cubist works. The visitor path at the Musée national Picasso-Paris highlights the major models of these two collections, echoing the works of Pablo Picasso that inspired them. Show runs until 22 April 2022.
Book your ticket for the Picasso-Paris National Museum
From 10.30am to 6pm. From 9.30am to 6pm Saturday and Sunday and during school holidays. Closed on Monday and 1st May.
Musée National Picasso-Paris - 5 rue de Thorigny, Paris 3rd
The Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris has delved into its archives to recount the creative process of the great couturier, which essentially involved drawing, a liberating impulse that set the rhythm and tone of the collections. A unique visitor path reveals the life of the fashion house to the public as well as the incredible expertise and high technical skills of the various workshops that accompanied the designer in his work. This tribute exhibition runs until 18 September 2022.
From 11am to 6pm. From 11am to 9pm Saturday. Closed on Monday.
Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris - 5 avenue Marceau, Paris 16th
