© Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent / Guy Marineau
News broke yesterday (18 January) that the Bowes Museum, in County Durham, and the Pierre Bergé Foundation will be hosting a three month exhibition displaying the life and works of designer, Yves Saint Laurent.
The showcase will run from Saturday July 11 to Sunday October 25 2015, and will be titled Yves Saint Laurent: Style Is Eternal, the name taken from one of his most famous quotes, “fashion fades, style is eternal”. This is the first ever exhibition in the UK to display a comprehensive works by the designer.
Pierre Bergé, President of the Foundation Pierre Bergé -Yves Saint Laurent believes that Bowes Museum is the “perfect setting ”, as “The Bowes Museum is a natural destination given its exceptional work with fashion and textiles; the museum and its location also clearly reflects Yves Saint Laurent’s and my own passion for inspiring, timeless places”.
The designer headed-up Christian Dior from 1957 to 1960 as the creative director, shortly after setting up his eponymous line, displaying his first show in 1962 with partner Pierre Bergé who focused on the business side.
So what can we expect from the retrospective?
On display will be 50 pieces from the fashion houses collection of 5000 garments and over 15,000 accessories, including iconic YSL gowns from his Russian Doll collection, expect voluminous dresses with fur hats and long scarves straight from a scene in Saint Peters Square in Russia, his androgynous tuxedos and the Mondrian shift dresses, possibly his most iconic collection.
The collective will dominate the Bowes Museum’s first floor and will explore various parts of the designers varied influences, such as masculine-feminine, lace, art with tributes to Picasso, Matisse and Van Gogh as well as transparency.
Joanna Hashagen, fashion curator at The Bowes Museum says, “We are honoured to host the first exhibition in the UK of Yves Saint Laurent, one of the most influential fashion designers of all time. This certainly is a great moment in the history of The Bowes Museum, as well as for fashion display in the UK”.
The Yves Saint Laurent exhibition will be on display July 11 – October 25 2015, and we can’t wait.
