DENVER — Tuxedos and evening gowns were out Friday night as 800 special guests strutted across a pink carpet to gather at the Denver Art Museum’s black-tie gala to welcome the very fashionable exhibition “Yves Saint Laurent: The Retrospective.” Once inside, guests dispersed over the museum’s first two floors, where a twisted cluster of giant black balloons rose along the staircase, leading to the second-floor exhibition.
Guests mingled and sipped on special Yves Saint Laurent Grey Goose Cherry Noir martinis and munched on truffles and canapés before previewing the retrospective, which opened to the public on March 25. Two of Saint Laurent’s closest confidants were there, taking pride in continuing the legacy of their beloved friend: Yves Saint Laurent co-founder and partner Pierre Bergé, and the muse whom Saint Laurent considered his twin sister, Betty Catroux. The Colorado band DeVotchka, French ambassador François Delattre, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, and a few Colorado “Project Runway” alums, including Ivy Higa, were also present to fête the exhibition of the legendary designer’s work.
“We spent our lives together, we loved each other, I miss everything, every day, every minute I miss him,” Catroux, looking chic in a YSL haute couture tuxedo jacket, told ARTINFO. “But we try to prolong him this way — with the exhibition, and talking about him — Pierre Bergé and myself.”
A beaming Bergé addressed the guests before the galleries opened for viewing. “I know,” Bergé told the crowd, “I know very well Yves Saint Laurent would be so proud and happy with it in Denver, with us.” That night, it was Denver that was proud and happy to have Yves Saint Laurent there.
Click on the slide show to see pictures from the gala for “Yves Saint Laurent: The Retrospective”