Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris

Welcome to the holiest of holies! The couture house Yves Saint Laurent is today home to a museum dedicated to one of the 20th-century’s most iconic designers. Over the course of your visit, this vast Second Empire mansion aims to unlock some of the secrets behind the great designer’s work – helped by the fact that Saint Laurent meticulously archived all his work since opening his couture house in 1961. The museum’s collection includes 5,000 pieces of clothing, 15,000 accessories and tens of thousands of sketches, collection boards, photographs and other documents.

Behind the genius of Saint Laurent

The museum’s collection, as well as its ever-renewing temporary exhibitions, explores the couturier’s creative genius through a selection of around 50 haute couture pieces, as well as accessories, sketches, photographs and films. Major themes within the designers œuvre are examined, and you can see here some of the designer’s most iconic models – including Le Smoking, the Safari suit and the trench coat – as well as his homages to art, and collections inspired by China, Morocco, Spain and Russia.

You can also visit the salons that were formerly open to clients, as well as the studio: a veritable laboratory, bubbling over with sketches, samples and coloured pencils, where some of his most beautiful creations came to life before being shown on the catwalk.

And to extend this fashion moment, head for the Palais Galliera, the Paris City Fashion Museum, which, a few steps away, presents some invaluable collections of clothing and accessories.