Marrakech – The Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech (mYSLm) has announced the opening of Yves Saint Laurent Onstage, a major exhibition running from January 3, to January 5, 2027.
Dedicated to costumes and sets created for theater, ballet, and music-hall, the exhibition casts a strategic light on a lesser-known yet essential dimension of Yves Saint Laurent’s legacy: his enduring relationship with the performing arts.
Co-curated by couturier Stephan Janson and Domitille Éblé, Head of Collections at the Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris, the exhibition traces a creative journey that began early in Saint Laurent’s life.
His fascination with the stage dates back to his teenage years in Oran, Algeria, where, at just 13, he experienced what he later described as his first profound aesthetic revelation, an encounter that would shape his artistic vision for decades.
Conceived as a natural continuation of its first presentation at the Nicola Del Roscio Foundation, and narrative expression in Saint Laurent’s work.
Widely celebrated for transforming women’s fashion, Yves Saint Laurent was equally visionary in his approach to costume design.
A space for creation, transmission, and interdisciplinary dialogue
The exhibition highlights his early theatrical imagination, from the cardboard models of his childhood “Illustrious Theater” in Oran to his seminal collaborations with leading figures of the stage.
From his work with choreographer Roland Petit on Cyrano de Bergerac to the iconic creations designed for Zizi Jeanmaire, most famously the legendary “My Feather Thing” costume, Saint Laurent consistently pursued freedom of movement and fidelity to character.
Far from being mere decorative elements, his costumes were conceived as functional, expressive extensions of the performer’s body.
Prominent figures of the French stage and music scene, including Sylvie Vartan and Johnny Hallyday, saw their stage presence amplified through Saint Laurent’s designs, which fused elegance with energy and personality.
Unlike a conventional retrospective, Yves Saint Laurent Onstage adopts an immersive scenography that evokes the intensity of backstage life.
Preparatory sketches, original costumes, many crafted by the renowned Karinska workshops, stage sets, and rare archival documents are presented in dynamic dialogue.
This approach allows visitors to follow the transformation from sketch to costume, capturing the precise moment when fabric, color, and form bring a character to life.
The exhibition pays particular homage to Léon Bakst’s influence, notably through Saint Laurent’s bold and expressive use of color.
In doing so, the exhibition aligns seamlessly with the mYSLm’s broader programming, reaffirming its mission as a space for creation, transmission, and interdisciplinary dialogue between fashion and the arts.
