Yves Saint Laurent's love of theatre explored in new Marrakesh exhibition

Yves Saint Laurent and his love of theatre are explored in a new exhibition in Marrakesh. A museum dedicated to the influential fashion designer has brought together costumes, sketches and set designs to show how the stage influenced his work.

A costume Yves Saint Laurent designed for French actress Arletty in Jean Cocteau’s play Les Monstres sacrés in 1966 is one of the many items on display at a new exhibition in Marrakesh.

The long, straight cut dress is covered in fine silver sequins, with a simple round neckline and three-quarter length sleeves.

Its surface catches the light evenly, creating a uniform shimmer.

Displayed on a mannequin against a dark backdrop, the garment’s restrained shape and fluid drape are emphasised.

The dress is part of Yves Saint Laurent on Stage, an exhibition now open at the Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Marrakesh, dedicated entirely to the designer’s work for theatre, ballet and music hall.

Rather than focusing on runway fashion, the exhibition examines how Saint Laurent approached costume as a form of storytelling, translating scripts, choreography and personalities into clothing.

His connection to the performing arts began early.

Raised in Oran, Algeria, Saint Laurent discovered theatre as a teenager and began staging productions of his own, designing both costumes and sets long before he became a couturier.

Madison Cox, president of the Jardin Majorelle Foundation, which oversees the museum, says that passion never left him.

He says: “Yves Saint Laurent, even when he was a young adolescent, 12, 13, 14 years old, he was creating productions or theatre productions. He built a small little theatre in cardboard, and his audience were his two sisters.”

The exhibition traces that early fascination through Saint Laurent’s professional collaborations, beginning with theatre, moving into ballet, and later music hall performances.

Domitille Éblé, head of collections at the Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Paris says: “In 1950, he discovered the world of theatre with a performance of The School for Wives in Oran, staged by Louis Jouvet with sets and costumes by Christian Bérard. These small experiences would later shape his entire approach to stage art and his collaborations.”

Among the exhibition’s highlights are Saint Laurent’s designs for Roland Petit’s 1959 ballet Cyrano de Bergerac, where costumes were created to reflect the psychology and movement of each character, from Cyrano to Roxane.

His work with performer Zizi Jeanmaire is also featured, showing how Saint Laurent balanced boldness, lightness and strength to enhance stage presence.

Visitors are guided through the creative process, from first sketches and revisions to finished costumes designed to move with dancers and actors.

The exhibition also includes projects that were never staged.

Drafts, set models and costume designs for productions such as La Reine Margot, Le Balayeur and L’Aigle à deux têtes offer insight into ideas that remained on paper.

One particularly significant piece is the costume Saint Laurent created for Le Mariage de Figaro in 1964, his first major theatrical commission.

Stephan Janson, curator of the exhibition, says that moment marked a turning point.

He says: “The Marriage of Figaro is undoubtedly the most important play in Yves Saint Laurent’s career, because it was the first time he was able to work for the theatre.”

The exhibition brings together around 250 works, including costumes, sketches, photographs and video material, many of which have never been shown in Marrakesh and are rarely exhibited in Paris.

Alexis Sornin, director of the Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Marrakesh, says the show builds on an earlier presentation in Rome and expands it significantly.

He says: “What we are presenting here can be seen as chapter two of this project, broader in scope, unfolding through an initial presentation followed by a second rotation in the second half of 2026.”

Made possible through the archives of the Pierre Bergé, Yves Saint Laurent Foundation and international loans, the exhibition offers a rare look at how this designer blurred the boundaries between fashion and performance.

Yves Saint Laurent on Stage runs until 5 January 2027 at the Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Marrakesh.