Silk roads from Jacques Coeur to YVES SAINT LAURENT

PUBLIC EXHIBITIONS JANUARY 8 to 13, 2 to 6 pm

Domaine de Varye 18230 Saint Doulchard

Contact and Information: lebrech.associes@neuf.fr - 01 47 70 04 88

Fashion Consultant: François Hurteau-Flamand

06 67 53 47 01

Silk Roads: from Jacques Cœur to Yves Saint Laurent

The prestige of Yves Saint Laurent

In the 1960s, the talented designer Yves Saint Laurent turned to a company specializing in luxury silks: Maison Abraham. Based in Zurich, Switzerland, Abraham is renowned for the quality of its fabrics and colors. Its founder was the famous modern art collector Gustav Zumsteg (1915-2005). The silk pieces, meanwhile, were manufactured in the Lyon and Como workshops in Italy.

Gustav Zumsteg and Parisian fashion

Gustav Zumsteg attracted the elite of Parisian fashion to his family's "Kronenhalle" restaurant in Zurich: Gabrielle Chanel, Givenchy, Balenciaga , Christian Dior and, of course, Yves Saint Laurent, whom he had met in his early days at Dior. The prestigious partnership became a reality: Yves Saint Laurent entrusted the manufacture of his silks to the Abraham workshops, directed at the time by Gustav Zumsteg. This renowned firm would then have worldwide exclusivity for the manufacture of Saint Laurent scarves.

In the intimacy of creation

André Barrieu works behind the scenes for Yves Saint Laurent, for whom he is the inspiration and designer of the prints. The 2 artists worked in complete secrecy and artistic harmony for over 30 years in the residences of Monsieur Saint Laurent.

The exhibition at Domaine de Varye: a unique collection

The original drawings, inks and scarf prototypes come from the Abraham collection, of which André Barrieu is the creator and custodian. Here we find Yves Saint Laurent's classic sources of inspiration: Paris, felines, the world of flowers and plants, and painters such as Mondrian, Picasso, Braque, Matisse, Bérard and Bonnard.

More than 150 original drawings from this collection will be exhibited at the Domaine de Varye, Saint-Doulchard (18230) from January 8 to 14, 2024, then auctioned at the same venue on Sunday January 14, 2024 from 2 pm, by the Paris auctioneers Maison de Ventes Le Brech et Associés Contact: lebrech.associes@neuf.fr - 01 47 70 04 88

From Jacques Coeur to the present day: the silk trail

This precious fabric was already brought back by the galleys of Jacques Coeur, who had woven a network of trading posts in the Mediterranean, enabling him to trade extensively. By the 15th century, Lyon had become one of Europe's most important trading centers, thanks to its tax-free fairs. From the 16th century onwards, silk merchants established silk factories in Lyon, acquiring a worldwide reputation for quality and prestige.