Betty Catroux, fashion icon and Yves Saint Laurent’s ‘twin sister’ has made a large donation to the YSL Foundation. Anthony Vaccarello, artistic director of Saint Laurent has now staged around fifty of these historic pieces for a new exhibition.

Born in 1945, the model Betty Catroux met Yves Saint Laurent in Paris in 1967. Over the years she became his muse, and the two remained firm friends until Saint Laurent’s death.

Catroux’s androgynous look was the perfect match for the designer’s creations, and over the decades Catroux amassed a unique collection of YSL, often prototypes for fashion shows. Her donation to the YSL Foundation includes 180 haute couture and 138 prêt-à-porter pieces.

It’s the biggest donation the Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent Foundation has ever received.

In addition to a selection of these clothes, the exhibition shows numerous photos of Catroux taken by famous photographers including Jeanloup Sieff, Helmut Newton, Steven Meisel and Irving Penn.

And as Catroux traversed a number of eras in YSL, the exhibition also explains the history of the ‘Saint Laurent style’, from the 1960s to 2002 when he announced he was closing the haute couture side of his business.

The exhibition Betty Catroux, Yves Saint Laurent – Feminine Singular is at the Yves Saint Laurent Museum (here) from 3rd March – 11th October 2020

Open every day except Mondays from 11am-6pm (9pm Thursdays)

Admission: 10€ / 7€

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