From June 16 – October 8, 2019, the Yves Saint Laurent Museum will feature “Desert Design,” an exhibition highlighting the skillful weavings of the Aït Khebbach Berber tribe. The women of this tribe are remarkable in their creation of imaginative and colorful patterned carpets. The exhibition is inspired from a trip French designers Arnaud Maurieres and Christine Bouilloc, and Moroccan designer Younes Duret made to the Merzouga Sahara Desert region in 2010.
Their guide Lachen brought them into his home, an open space with a sparse environment. “Nine people lived within the walls; there was nothing in the unpainted interior that resembled furniture,” Maurieres explained.
The co-creators of the exhibit were surprised when the “pile of rugs in the corner…were unfolded to welcome (them) and the floor seemed dappled with vibrant colors.
Once their curiosity was peaked, the team asked to meet with the Berber women who weaved the rugs; the seeds for the Desert Design exhibit were planted.
The YSL museum is located in Marrakech near the Majorelle Gardens which features a Berber Museum on site with historic artifacts and jewelry.
After being featured at the YSL “Desert Design” is a traveling exhibition that will be showcased and remain on display until April 2020, at the Musee Bargoin de Clermont-Ferrand in Clermont-Ferrand, France where Bouilloc is the museum director.