This Vault Journey Lets You Explore Marrakech Like Yves Saint Laurent

If you’ve ever dreamed of commissioning a custom piece from Yves Saint Laurent, this extraordinary experience in Marrakech offers the next best thing.

For this one-of-a-kind adventure, Rob Report Plan-It taps travel master Alex Wicks of Wicks Squared and Gayle Leonard’s team in Morocco. “If Marrakech can become the music of someone like Yves Saint Laurent, why on earth are you not coming to Marrakech?” Leonard says with a laugh. “It’s a sensory overload, a sugar rush of color.” Together, the Morocco-based organizations have created an itinerary.

Saint Laurent was an instant hit with Marrakech during his first visit in 1966. He and his partner, Perry Bergey, bought a house nearby, dubbing it Dar el Hinch, or the house of the snake. The designer painted the snake mural that gave the residence its name, and the artwork directly inspired the necklace included in the package. “Snakes featured heavily in her costume designs, for their creative rebirth when they shed their skin,” says Leonard.

Designed by Stéphane Di Renza, the necklace itself will be a bespoke creation by Paris-based enamelist Sandrin Tessier, a third-generation craftsman whose work appears in the vitrines of Place Vendôme. Vault buyers skip their long waiting lists and go straight to a customs commission, the Snake of Marrakech, a fully articulated chain with 46 double-sided elements: a dozen of blue, yellow and green sapphires, 12 rubies and 20 black diamonds. The snake pendant features over 250 black diamonds, nettite-cut rubies, and champlevy enamel. Each enamel layer is hand-finished, and the entire piece is cast in 18-karat palladium white gold with black dour under the stones. Tesser guarantees that this is a true one-of-a-kind, with no prototypes or reproductions permitted.

Travel is far from glamorous. Your three-night stay is at the long-standing Hotel de Lys Lamonia in Saint Laurent. You’ll sleep in the 2,280-square-foot Almoun Suite—two bedrooms and multiple terraces that offer wide-open views of the Atlas Mountains, the same panorama that helped seal the designer’s bond with the city.

For a series of private day trips, a luxury town car makes for any quick moves. At Dar El Hinch, the current owners of the house will welcome you for drinks and share first-hand stories of the Saint Laurent-era. (He knew St. Laurent’s circle personally.) Leonard noted. “What about that very famous picture of Saint Laurent, naked in white jeans? He’s standing on the balcony when he gets home.” You will leave with your copy YSL: une Passion Marroquin As a memento of the meeting.

Then there is exceptional access to Villa Oasis, the last home of Saint Laurent and Burgé. Closed to all but a handful of visitors each year, the residence features layered rooms with carved woodwork pieces and intricate artisan details. You’ll also visit Moussa Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech and adjacent Jordan Majorel, an eccentric botanical fantasy created by artist Jacques Majorel and painstakingly restored by the couple.

Experience is not just in the past. One of Morocco’s most influential creators and gallerists, Hudaya Temli, will guide you through the studios and workshops of the city’s emerging artists, offering a window into Marrakech’s creative past.

This immersion will indicate how St. Laurent and its surroundings were attracted – including the Talatha Gate – back to the city in the first place. “It’s an amazing weekend to dip your Manolo-shod toes into this incredible landscape,” says Leonard. “During that period, it became so glamorous, with a frisson of possibility and inspiration. And people are still incredibly inspired – it’s still the essence of Marrakech.” 1 471,000