Spend any amount of time in the sun-dappled ochre corners of Marrakech, its fragrant squares rammed with elbows, footfall, spice, texture and trade - the call to prayer and tobacco smoke carrying through the streets and oranges hanging low from every branch - and it’s easy to see why Yves Saint Laurent described it as “The city that taught me colour.”
In 1966, the then-young French designer arrived with his partner, industrialist and YSL co-founder Pierre Bergé, for the first time, an experience that would go on to inspire some of his most iconic work.
The visit began with a week of rain and ended with the pair buying Majorelle gardens in the outskirts of the city, once owned by the French artist Jacques Majorelle and painted in the cobalt-esque shade of blue he pioneered.
Fourteen years after that first trip, Saint Laurent and Bergé further planted their roots, buying the Villa Oasis, a private residence adjoining the gardens that they restored into a fashionable Eden of their own vision: primary colours, birdsong, bloom and the gentle drip of running water — a palm-lined sanctuary that Saint Laurent visited regularly up until his death in 2008.
But while anyone can buy a ticket to the lovely gardens, as well as the recently-opened Musée Yves Saint Laurent, a hugely impressive low terracotta structure designed to represent the warp and weft of fabric that, inside, houses an incredible archive and timeline of the designer’s work – along with a 160-seat auditorium, café and research centre – it’s only a very lucky sort who can gain access to Villa Oasis, YSL’s private Elysium.
There you can amble, in total privacy, through the lattice of gardens and shading ivy as you come face to face with the house that Saint Laurent made home: a baroque living room with giant chandeliers, untouched library, leopard print sofas and mosaic-laden water features, then step out onto the pastel green balcony that hosted Andy Warhol and the Getty family — staring out onto a perfectly-tended garden dotted with towering palms, blue and yellow tile and still ponds.
As part of an exclusive package devised by Four Seasons Resort Marrakech, guests can, upon request to the concierge before their stay, arrange a very special (an understatement) trip into the centre of Saint Laurent’s Happy (so happy) Place, starting with a private tour into the Villa Oasis, before a visit to the adjoining Majorelle Gardens and the YSL museum.
Finally, once you arrive back with your visual colour palette permanently altered, Four Seasons will lay on a tasting menu inspired by the colours and textures of Saint Laurent’s work (yes there is a dish based on that Mondrian dress. Yes everything is delicious… very delicious).
Sitting back with a glass of cold Moroccan white and a belly full of squid ink, the sun casting a glow in a shade you’ve never seen anywhere in Europe – possibly anywhere – before, you can see why Yves decided to set up sanctuary in this pretty special part of the world.
“In Morocco, I realised that the range of colours I use was that of the zelliges, zouacs, djellabas and caftans. The boldness seen since then in my work, I owe to this country, to its forceful harmonies, to its audacious combinations, to the fervor of its creativity. This culture became mine, but I wasn’t satisfied with absorbing it; I took, transformed and adapted it.”
- Yves Saint Laurent
A glass of cold Moroccan white to that, Yves.
Rooms at Four Seasons Resort Marrakech start from £290 per night, for more information regarding the YSL Experience click here.
