In January 2002, Saint Laurent formally announced the end of his design career and the haute couture house. Retirement was not on his mind however.
In 2004, Bergé and Saint Laurent opened The Fondation Pierre Bergé - Yves Saint Laurent. Its purpose was to promote art, fashion (Saint Laurent and other designers) and photography exhibitions. A staff member stated "The exhibitions were always popular but the most popular were those devoted exclusively to Yves Saint Laurent." I could see why.
Yves Saint Laurent passed away in 2008. The Fondation continued until 2016 when Bergé decided the mansion should undergo refurbishment and reopen as a fully-fledged museum devoted to all things Yves Saint Laurent.
Saint Laurent introduced the first pantsuit in 1967 and in 1968 brought out the first safari jacket and jumpsuit. Still classics to this day.
I've barely scratched the surface of his 'firsts', it's easy to see why the museum's opening was so highly anticipated. It's the history of modern fashion.
Saving for the future
In 1964, Saint Laurent began to set aside pieces from each collection along with the corresponding sketches, fabric swatches, and accessories. This amounted to thousands of designs. Even though it was early in his career, he could visualize a YSL museum decades later. He continued to create on many levels and in 1974 the fashion house moved to the opulent Hôtel Particulier on 5 avenue Marceau. From there the designs continued to flourish.
Left: Musee Yves Saint Laurent collection photo Luc Castel; middle: Saint Laurent's "Le Smoking" Musee Yves Saint Laurent; above: the great designer at work