Getting inspired in Marrakech by YSL
It's been a long time since I last blogged.
I've been focused on Instagram and tried my hand at recording a couple of haul videos over on YouTube, but the last three months have been insane! Finding time to be creative has been a tough ask and I'm currently writing this on my phone on the train!
I was scrolling through photos on my Google Drive, looking for insta candidates, when I came across the pictures I took in the YSL museum while in Morocco back in March. It was such a fab holiday and I'd highly recommend it to anyone who fancies it because the exposure to a culture of the old city of Marrakech is very different to ours here in the UK and something everyone should see.
However the old city won't fill your entire holiday, especially if you're like us and cram LOADS into a single day! The new city is pretty much like every other modern city, full of all your favourite brands, plenty of bars and restaurants, and SOOOO many taxis! The one thing I was determined to subject my boyfriend to however was the YSL museum.
Yves Saint Laurent had a house in Marrakech and the city influenced him hugely throughout his career. He credits it for igniting his love of colour and regularly played with a variety of textures and fabrics he discovered there. You would say that he was very taken with the street style of the era, but homeware textiles and interior styling had a big impact too.
At the museum, there was an exhibition of on of his haute couture collections; displayed on mannequins hanging from thick, industrial chains from the ceiling. The room was guarded (obviously) and there was strictly no flash photography. I wondered why you weren't allowed to use the flash given that the room was so dark you could hardly see the other people around you but I took my first photo and realised why.
The lighting was so well considered that it picked up the tiniest of details in the dresses but left them enveloped in darkness, enhancing the dramatic nature of the designs. Texture was key here; each dress playing with layer upon layer of fabrics to create pieces with such intricacy they were unbelievably captivating when you got close.
Structure featured heavily too with stiff, wide skirts, high collars and flattering neck lines. YSL really knew how to address the female form! But these dresses were never really meant to be worn.
This exhibition was fashion in it's finest form.
For me, the experience was downright awe inspiring!
My boyfriend however, had other ideas 🤣 Still, he appreciated the detail and intricacies of the dresses structures from a designers perspective so at least he took something away from it!
Was it worth queuing round the block for? Absolutely!
#morocco #marrakech #ysl #museum #highfashion #hautecouture #tourist #designer