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Pierre
Bergé was already established as a patron of the arts and design
when in 1961 he joined Yves Saint Laurent to found
the fashion house of the same name. His business
and financial acumen, sharp design sense and marketing
vision were perfect compliments to YSL's creative
genius. Although CEO of the YSL enterprise, Bergé's
passion for arts and culture, concern for social
and political causes and his espertise in finance
and philanthropy saw his talents channelled in
numerous other directions. In his capacity as
President of the Opera de Paris, he oversaw the
opening of the Opera Bastille in September, 1989.
He served as France's UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador
in 1993; started "Ensemble Contre le SIDA" (Together
against AIDS) in 1994; founded "La Maison chinoise
de la democratie" in Paris after the Tiananmen
uprising of June, 1989 and was the co-founder
of SOS Racisme. Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint
Laurent have been fixtures in Marrakech for more
than 30 years and in the early 80's bought the
Garden and studio of the French orientalist painter
Jacques Majorelle. |
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...They
converted the studio into a museum which houses
their collection of Islamic Art...a minimalist
collection that stands out even more because each
and every piece is absolutely excuisite. In early
2000 they decided to create an endowment to restore
the garden in keeping with Jacques Majorelle's
love of exotic plants, and now the garden boasts
300 species. The Association for the Safeguard
of the Majorelle Garden was created to protect
the ecological, historical and cultural legacy
of the garden and Islamic art museum. The association
also seeks to cooperate with other groups having
the same objectives. The fashion house of Yves
Saint Laurent began a transition in the 90's with
the sale to Elf Sanofi in 1993, and the acquisition
by Gucci in 1999 after which Yves Saint Laurent
maintained the haute couture line. YSL announced
his retirement in 2002, culminating in a moving
retrospective at the Centre Pompidou that January.
After closing the haute couture line with the
2002 season, Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint
Laurent established the Foundation Pierre Bergé/Yves
Saint Laurent at 5 Rue Manceau for more than 30
years their headquarters. In
announcing the formation of the Foundation, the
culmination of their combined interests in art
and fashion, Pierre Bergé explained the
spirit behind it: "I have always been wary of
nostalgia and living in the past. I have always
maintained that one must transform memories into
a project, and that is exactly what we have done
with this Foundation. And so continues an adventure
begun a long time ago, before we knew what destiny
held in store for us." We have been thrilled to
participate in a retrospective of Bill Willis'
career that is being directed and published by
Pierre Bergé. This is a work that will
finally put in one volume the breadth and scope
of Bill's talents as well as provide a colorful
autobiographical narrative of this creative, honest
and independent genius. Pierre Bergé's
visits to Rick's Cafe have always been a reaffirmation
that we're really on the right path...a man with
his own cordon bleu chef who nonetheless appreciates
a good chicken curry is someone after my heart!
K.K. |
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