Yves Saint Laurent exhibition at the Petit Palais

The exhibition retraces four decades (1962 to 2002) of creations by the famous fashion designer who died in 2008. From 11 March to 29 August 2010.

The Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent Foundation and the Petit Palais (the City of Paris Museum of Fine Art) present the first-ever retrospective of Yves Saint Laurent. The exhibition's patron is France's First Lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.

More than just three letters, YSL contributed to the revolution in women’s dress, with his women’s smoking jackets, leopard prints, Sahara jackets and tailored trousers.

A whole world which the City of Paris Museum of Fine Art seeks to explore.

Thus the Petit Palais presents the first retrospective ever to look at Yves Saint Laurent’s entire oeuvre. With 307 haute-couture and ready-to-wear garments displayed for the very first time, together with a great many sketches, documents and films exploring the genius of one of the greatest fashion designers of the century, the exhibition retraces the four decades (1962 to 2002) of Yves Saint Laurent's creations.
The pieces chosen for the exhibition are laid out in a theatrical progression, from Saint Laurent’s early days as a designer at Dior in 1958, with the famous "Trapèze" collection, to the splendour of Yves Saint Laurent silk dresses.

The building of the Yves Saint Laurent style and the background to his work are presented in historical context, illustrated with photographs and films. The richness of his artistic and cultural inspirations is portrayed in spectacular tableaux. The first fashion designer ever to want to cater for the masses, Yves Saint Laurent also designed clothes for the most beautiful women in the world.

The exhibition ends with a blaze of colours and creations that places Yves Saint Laurent’s oeuvre firmly in the present.

Petit Palais, Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris (French only)
Avenue Winston Churchill
75008 Paris
11 March to 29 August 2010