Architectural designs by French firm Studio KO have been released for the upcoming museum dedicated to designer Yves Saint Laurent and his work, the "mYSLm" (Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech).

Yves Saint Laurent had a long and public love affair with Morocco, buying the Jardin Majorelle gardens in 1980 with his life and business partner Pierre Bergé, after falling in love with the city of Marrakesh in 1966. From Autumn 2017, a new museum will accompany the garden on the Rue Yves Saint Laurent outside the medina walls of Marrakesh.

More than just a museum

The 4000 square meters of floor space will hold a part of the Pierre Bergé - Yves Saint Laurent Foundation's diverse collection of fashion, accessories, designs and objects. A space of 400 square meters will be dedicated to a permanent exhibition of Saint Laurent's work, and the venue will also include a temporary exhibit space, an auditorium, a bookshop/boutique, a research library and a café-restaurant.

An architecture of contrasts

To honour the late designer, much work has gone into the esthetics of the building, both inside and out. Studio KO, founded by Karl Fournier and Olivier Marty -- who are also behind the Chiltern Firehouse in London and the Balmain boutique in New York -- have played with the contrast of curves and straight lines, smooth strokes and sharp slashes. The exterior of terra cotta, earth-colored granite and locally-sourced Moroccan stone shows layering of cubed shapes, reminiscent of the way in which thread crisscrosses fabric. Inside, much like the inner lining of a garment, the design is luxurious, smooth and bright.

Building work to create the new Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Marrakesh is scheduled to start imminently.

Closer to home, a special exhibition on the designer is coming to Galeri Petronas this June.