Pierre Bergé was an exceptional man, who in his lifetime lent to our society all the genius, generosity, audacity and humanism that inhabited him, and who leaves them to us as a legacy today.
Culture was the heart of his life. It was, in a strong sense, a reason for being. Nourished by the arts from childhood, especially by literature, he chose to put his own existence at their service. A series of formative meetings in his youth, including those of the painter Bernard Buffet and the writer Jean Giono, will seal this vocation.
It will find its full strength and greatness to unfold in the relationship he maintained with the creator Yves Saint-Laurent, marked by an extraordinary professional adventure, through which Pierre Bergé’s entrepreneurial talent accompanied the talent of the creator.
Co-founder and CEO of Yves Saint-Laurent for 40 years, Pierre Bergé will remain a figure of haute couture. But he was in love with all the arts. And he served them all. He worked for the performing arts as director of the Théâtre de l'Athénée, and president of the Opéra Bastille in particular. For the press, through its involvement, among others, in Têtu and more recently in Le Monde. A great patron, Pierre Bergé also supported numerous museum and heritage projects. He notably contributed to the reopening of Jean Cocteau’s house.
A tireless man of action, Pierre Bergé also became involved in the citizen field. As the founding president of SIDACTION, he stood up for human rights and respect for the dignity of persons.
He was a man of courage, conviction, and great generosity, who was always committed to what he loved and to those he loved. Committed to justice, to the arts, to beauty, he worked his whole life for a cause: humanism.
I extend my deepest condolences to her husband, family and friends.