Born in the Algerian port of Oran, Yves Saint Laurent spent his childhood bathed by the lights and colors of North Africa. This had a profound effect on him, and with his design genius, he translated this palette of colors to haute couture garments, which in turn defined Yves Saint Laurent as a great colorist.

With a fashion career spanning 40 years, Yves Saint Laurent brought the fashion world to an extraordinary voyage of colors and light. Inspired by China, Japan, Russia, Africa, Spain and Morocco, his creativity knew no bounds.

And from October 4, 2006 to March 2007, Yves Saint Laurent is inviting the world once again to view this amazing collection, with the pieces culled from his haute couture collections.

Located at 5 Avenue Marceau in Paris, the Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent Foundation was created by Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurent to preserve and prolong the historic fashion House of Yves Saint Laurent, whose haute couture operations ceased on Oct 31, 2002.

Stored in the vaults of the museum are 5,000 haute couture garments and 15,000 accessories, sketches and assorted objects that bear witness to the House’s 40-year history. The foundation has 200 square meters of exhibition space.