In 1966 Yves Saint Laurent revealed his Rive Gauche ready-to-wear line, inspired by the beatnik style worn by the Paris district’s residents, and opened his Left Bank boutique, a move that broke barriers of exclusivity and pioneered a new wave vision of fashion.

Nearly fifty years on, we see a mirroring of this moment in the fashion house’s history with Hedi Slimane’s announcement of plans to relocate the Saint Laurent headquarters, after more than four decades on the Avenue George V, to Penthemont Cistercian Abbey at 37 Rue de Bellechasse, on Paris’ Left Bank. 

This announcement follows the recent relocation of the YSL Salons De Couture and Paris Ateliers to the nearby L’Hôtel de Sénecterre, a 17th-Century townhouse designed by the king’s architect, Thomas Gobert.

Heritage runs deep in Slimane’s dialogue, just consider his FW15 menswear collection, a significant nod towards the iconic Rive Gauche collection. Paris’ Left Bank was a scene of much influence for Yves Saint Laurent, the designer found inspiration in the region’s liberal, bohemian lifestyle, historically home to artists, rebels, and intellectuals. Fascinated by the cool, boho aesthetic around him he sought to translate the look from the street to the catwalk, encouraged by his Left Bank muses Loulou de la Falaise and Betty Catroux.

The move will be finalised by 2018 with design overseen by Hedi Slimane.