At the end of January, the Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech opened the exhibition “Yves Saint Laurent Onstage”. It is dedicated to costumes and sets for theater, variety shows and ballet.
The exhibition is open until January 5, 2027. With this exhibition, the museum highlights a lesser-known but significant facet of Yves Saint Laurent’s creative genius: his lifelong passion for the performing arts. This passion arose from his first aesthetic revelation at the age of 13 in Oran, Algeria. The exhibition is co-curated by designer Stephan Janson and Domitille Éblé, head of collections at the Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris.
An exhibition in two acts
The exhibition was conceived as a natural extension of the first presentation held at the Fondazione Nicola Del Roscio in Rome in 2024. It can be viewed as her “second act,” according to a statement.
“Although the essence of the exhibition shown in Rome remains intact, the edition in Marrakesh is staged with an even more ambitious vision and enriched with never-before-seen pieces. The exhibition offers a deep insight into the ongoing dialogue between the couturier and the performing arts. This is made possible by the collections and archives of the Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent in Paris as well as exceptional international loans.”
Yves Saint Laurent is widely known for revolutionizing women’s wardrobe. However, he was also a visionary costume designer. This exhibition highlights his early passion for the stage. The cardboard models of his “Illustrious Theater”, which he made in his childhood home in Oran, bear witness to this. From the collaboration with Roland Petit for “Cyrano de Bergerac” to the creations for Zizi Jeanmaire and her iconic costume “Mon truc en plumes”, the couturier always sought movement, freedom and the embodiment of the figure.
As this in-depth exhibition shows, Yves Saint Laurent’s costumes were never mere ornaments. Rather, they were a second skin, designed to emphasize the actors’ movements. Icons of the French scene, from Sylvie Vartan to Johnny Hallyday, saw their stage presence enhanced by the designer’s masterful touch. Each costume became an extension of her personality and energy on stage.
“Yves Saint Laurent Onstage” offers immersive scenography that transports visitors to a behind-the-scenes atmosphere. The exhibition juxtaposes vivid preparatory sketches, original costumes – often made by the Karinska workshops – stage sets and rare archival materials. Visitors are invited to capture the exact moment a sketch by Yves Saint Laurent became a costume: the moment the fabric “gave life to the figure,” in constant homage to Léon Bakst’s color palette.
The museum dedicated to the designer was founded in 2017. It is located in the heart of Marrakech, just a few steps from the Jardin Majorelle.
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