Designer Pad: 55 Rue de Babylone

Yves Saint Laurent’s Parisian duplex which housed many of his prized possessions is now on the market, with an asking price of approximately $30 million.

The palatial 5,400-square-foot home at 55 Rue de Babylone on the Left Bank also features a slightly smaller garden. Early Modernism forms the soul of the neat and simple architecture style at the duplex, combined with Art Deco and the taste for the exotic; the major influence in the decorating and collecting was the revolutionary Vicomtesse Marie-Laure de Noailles with her quirky eclectic choices of furnishings and art pieces. All that showed respect for the past and, at the same time, audacity and understanding for contemporary art. It was about taste, not works. And one thing above all: the most exacting standards.