Welcome, curious minds! Today, our object of interest is Yves Mathieu-Saint-Laurent, an iconic Algeria-born fashion designer who became a worldwide legend in the second half of the 20th century. We’ll virtually visit his childhood home and see whether his houses in Paris and Marrakech were as stunning as they say.
Growing up in Oran’s affluent family, the boy tasted the refined lifestyle from his early years. Yves developed an impeccable taste for exceptional dresses and a luxurious environment as a kid. His mother, Lucienne, frequently changed her outfits, and the boy “was fascinated by the dresses she wore every evening.” Once, a 3-year-old Yves even cried when he didn’t like his mother’s dress!
The family had two houses—one at 11 rue Stora in the Plateau Saint Michel neighborhood and another—their summer residence in Trouville. “We lived in a big, three-story house in Oran and were a very jolly family,” said the couturier in an interview with Yvonne Baby in 1983. Yves Saint Laurent, his younger sisters Michèle and Brigitte, and their parents lived on the ground floor, and his uncle’s family lived on the floor above.
When Yves Saint Laurent started his independent life in Paris in the autumn of 1954, his early apartments seemed relatively uncluttered. However, things changed when he made a fortune. The designer developed a genuine lust for objects. “For somebody like me, who can’t stop accumulating objects, the absence of them is an oddity,” said Saint Laurent. This passion climaxed with the release of Opium, his “lush, heavy, and languid” perfume, in 1977. Yves received $30 million in a single year!
In 1970, he and his future civil spouse, Pierre Bergé, rented a spacious duplex apartment at 55 rue de Babylone in Paris. They met at a dinner party in 1958, had an intense romance, and broke up in 1976. However, the former couple was intertwined for their entire life. They bought this nine-room apartment eight years later. Architect Leon-Pierre Saulier originally designed it in the 1890s. An interior decorator, Muriel Brandolini from Manhattan, said, “Everything was a reflection of [Saint Laurent’s] eyes… He was a true connoisseur. Everything he acquired has its own integrity, strength, and beauty.” The former resident Marie Cuttoli had hung the weavings designed by modern artists on the duplex’s walls. Art Deco was Saint Laurent’s main obsession, so it was easy for him to say a confident “yes.”
When the rooms became densely enriched, Paris interior designer Jacques Grange helped the couple polish the decor. Imagine paintings by Goya and Picasso, furniture by Jean-Michel Frank, Renaissance bronzes, Eileen Gray dragon chair, and surrealist artworks by Lalannes — all mixed in one duplex. Feng Shui adherents would have been shocked! The atmosphere lacked lightness and fluidity. Have you watched our previous video about Pauline de Rotschild’s London flat? If “yes,” you’ll understand the connection between the Renaissance bronzes in Saint Laurent’s apartment and his admiration of the Rothschild clan. If “no,” we’ll leave the link to the video in the description so you can learn more about Saint Laurent’s preferences.
For more details, please check our video about Yves Saint Laurent