Putting my imagination to work is valuable to be” (Saint Laurent, 1995). This is how I take my most wonderful trips. I hate traveling, For example, if I read a book about India, with photographs, or about Egypt, where I have never been, my imagination runs wild. Selected items are contrasted and compared with traditional costumes from the early modern period to draw similarities between Yves Saint Laurent’s designs and the foreign cultures he encountered, physically or fantasized.Ĭoat, Morocco, early 20th century, silk, metal, MET IMAGINARY TRAVELS – RUSSIAīut one encounters a paradox when retracing Saint Laurent’s influence in his ethnic collections, as he clearly stated his position of armchair tourist: “In the end, the most wonderful voyage is the one that one takes around one’s room” “I exercise my imagination on the lands that I do not know. (Bergé 2008, 18)īy introducing typical North African ways of dressing in his 1960s, 70s and 80s collections inspired by his travel experiences, clothes became sites of narratives. This made him “the master colorist of his generation” (Bergé 2008, 18): “His discovery of Morocco, where he acquired his first house, in Marrakech- El Hanch (the Serpent)- in 1968, introduced a whole new color palette into his work”. He translated his visual experiences in North Africa onto garments with startlingly unexpected combinations of colour, turning outfits into canvases.

Such international references allowed Saint Laurent to step away from elegant conservatism and deliver groundbreaking designs to his clients, pushing further the boundaries of Haute Couture and bringing modernity to the forefront. Maharajah tunics, whimsical turbans, and babushka headscarf hats suggested the magical voyage that the designer would transport his clients on – to Morocco, Spain, Russia, China, Africa – through the subsequent decade ” (Bergé 2008, 17). Elements of traditional North African costumes were thus a part of his most celebrated collections, mixed with classical forms: “ among the tiered shantung tunic ensembles and gently fitted suits, there were harbingers of the firework to come. His personal background strongly inspired this tendency, being originally a “pied noir” from Algeria and later in his life a part-time resident of Morocco. These groups look as if they have been drawn and painted, that are reminiscent of sketched by Delacroix, and it is surprising to say that they are, in fact, merely an improvisation of life”. Men and women, where pink, blue, green, and violet caftans mingle. “On each street corner in Marrakech, you encounter groups that are impressive in their intensity, their relief. Yves Saint Laurent in Marrakech, 1960s NORTH AFRICA & MOROCCO

Saint laurent russian collection 1976