In January 1999, French model and actress Laetitia Casta rounded off Yves Saint Laurent's spring-summer haute couture show in a bikini-like wedding dress, adorned with silk gazar roses embroidered by the Lemarié workshops. This creation closes the current exhibition devoted to the use of flowers in the couturier's work, on view until May 4.
Conceived by curators Olivier Saillard and Gaël Mamine, this exhibition follows on from a previous display at the Musée Yves Saint Laurent in Marrakech, Morocco, and tells the story of how flora was one of his most prolific sources of inspiration. Bouquets of lily of the valley, lilies – lys in French, an anagram of his initials, which he liked a lot – roses and bougainvillea are depicted in some 30 silhouettes, jewelry, sketches and drawings.
Quotations from Marcel Proust's A la recherche du temps perdu (In Search of Lost Time) and works by the American artist Sam Falls, who places nature at the heart of his work, punctuate the visit.
"The Flowers of Yves Saint Laurent," Musée Yves Saint Laurent, 5 Avenue Marceau, Paris 1e, until May 4. museeyslparis.com
Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr; the publisher may only be liable for the French version.