The Private World of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé - (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

In this lavish volume, enjoy detailed views of the eight splendid homes Yves Saint Laurent shared with friend, former lover, and lifelong business partner Pierre Bergé.

Notoriously shy, the designer lived in luxury with Bergé, and Ivan Terestchenko's photographs capture their exquisite surroundings in full.

Nineteenth-century French décor, important paintings by Picasso, Matisse, and other modern and Romantic artists, and masterpieces of furniture, sculpture, and silver ranging from the Renaissance to the Art Deco era--all are beautifully showcased in this book.

From the serene interiors of their apartment on the Rue Babylone, Paris, to the incandescent beauty of the Villa Majorelle in Marrakech, Bergé and Saint Laurent's sensibilities come alive. The homes presented here have all been sold, with their contents auctioned to benefit HIV/AIDS research, but The Private World of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé preserves their memory.

This coffee table book is a beautiful testament to a rare union of passion, elegance, and supreme connoisseurship.

Review Quotes

(A) beautiful glimpse into their private world.-- "Habitually Chic"

A visually stunning book about a richly layered lifestyle built over the course of 40-plus years.-- "Home Design with Kevin Sharkey"

As he did with fashion, Yves seized at one moment in time, a taste that was in the air, to show his mastery. During the 1970s exoticism and Marrakech were currents in the air and St. Laurent became the authority. He was interested in Art Deco before it became fashionable, even before Andy Warhol and Karl Lagerfeld . . . St Laurent's and Bergé's taste is an expression of a culture and is always a story. When they decorated a house it was no longer an ordinary house: it became a story to tell.--Jacques Grange

In this lavish volume, the eight splendid homes . . . are presented in immaculate detail.-- "California Home + Design"

Some of the most influential interiors of our time.-- "Town & Country"

Takes readers . . . inside all eight of the couple's spectacular homes, from Paris to Marrakech.-- "Elle Decor"

Terestchenko's photographs beautifully capture the opulence and eclecticism of their dwellings.-- "Clear"

The quintessence of very grand and highly personal French taste.-- "Le Figaro"

You'll agree that this is a book with which you will be enchanted. And if a little of that YSL flair rubs off on us, all the better.--Jennifer Boles "The Peak of Chic"

About the Author

Robert Murphy is an antiques dealer specializing in twentieth-century decorative arts and a journalist. He was formerly Paris correspondent for W and Women's Wear Daily and his work has appeared in Architectural Digest, Details, the International Herald Tribune, and other major publications. He lives in Paris.
Photographer Ivan Terestchenko is an internationally renowned photographer whose work has appeared in several books and in W, Casa Vogue, World of Interiors, Elle Decor, and Architectural Digest.