Mounia Remembers YSL

From W Magazine (8/08)

I was his first black muse...He helped open the door for black models. Sometimes I was his confidante, and I would sometimes inspire his creativity. He called me Moumounn. The collection that made me a celebrity was the one inspired by Porgy and Bess. I wore a pink pantsuit and a boater hat. I walked to 'Summertime' and really took on the character of Bess. Catherine Deneuve stood up and started clapping. The everyone stood up and called out 'Bravo!' Yves Saint Laurent peered around the curtain - a thing that he had never done before - to see what all of the commotion was about. The people were shouting 'Bravo, Yves Saint Laurent!' and 'Brava, Mouina!' He took me in his arms, and we kissed. This for me was history...After that I had more than 15 covers...Mr. Fairchild gave me my first cover [of WWD], and [French Vogue's] Francine Crescent gave me 27 pages. This was the first time that a black model had arrived in haute couture. I say thank you to Monsieur Yves Saint Laurent and thank you to Monsieur Pierre Bergé. My last word for Yves Saint Laurent is 'love.'

Source: W Magazine, Sepia