WHY AYT STUDIO CHOSE ARLES FOR ITS POP-UP: ART, LIGHT, AND THE SPIRIT OF SOUTHERN FRANCE

AYT Studio brought its art-to-wear collections to Arles, in the south of France, from May 28 to May 30, 2026. For the AYT Studio founder Yasmine Azizi, Arles was a deliberate choice, as a city where rich history, contemporary art, and the raw beauty of the Provençal landscape converge.

VINCENT VAN GOGH AND THE LIGHT OF ARLES

Vincent van Gogh arrived in Arles in February 1888, drawn by what he called the search for “a stronger sun.” Over the following fifteen months, he produced more than 300 works; paintings and drawings that would become some of the most recognized in Western art history. The Bedroom, Café Terrace at Night, the Sunflowers series, Starry Night Over the Rhône, and the Flowering Orchards were all painted during Van Gogh’s time in Arles.

What drew Van Gogh to Arles was the city’s light. The exceptional clarity and warmth of the Provençal sun transformed his palette, pushing his work toward the bold, saturated colors and expressive brushwork that define his legacy.

AYT Studio’s art-to-wear collections share this instinct. AYT’s garments and accessories, created with French artist REMED, are built on vibrant color, dynamic form, and a belief that clothing can carry the emotional intensity of a painting. The light of Arles resonates with the vivid palettes that define AYT Studio’s shirts, printed dresses, and silk scarfs.

LES RENCONTRES D’ARLES: WHERE PHOTOGRAPHY, ART, AND FASHION CONVERGE

Every summer since 1970, Arles hosts Les Rencontres d’Arles, one of the most internationally acclaimed photography festivals in the world. Founded by photographer Lucien Clergue, writer Michel Tournier, and historian Jean-Maurice Rouquette, the festival transformed Arles from a regional historic city into a destination where the international creative community gathers each year.

The 57th edition of Les Rencontres d’Arles will run from July 6 to October 4, 2026, presenting over 40 exhibitions across churches, industrial warehouses, courtyards, and historic buildings throughout the city. The festival attracts photographers, curators, publishers, collectors, and fashion creatives from around the world.

What makes Les Rencontres d’Arles distinctive is its format. Exhibitions are installed in unexpected spaces — a medieval chapel, a former railroad building, a sun-washed courtyard — creating encounters between artwork and architecture that feel intimate rather than institutional. This approach to showing art in context, rather than in white-walled isolation, mirrors AYT Studio’s vision of art that lives on the body rather than behind glass.

The festival’s spirit also extends beyond its official program. The city fills with independent exhibitions, studio openings, artist talks, and creative gatherings, resulting in an ecosystem of independent artistic energy.

LUMA ARLES: CONTEMPORARY ART AND ARCHITECTURE AT SCALE

LUMA Arles is an interdisciplinary creative campus, including large-scale art exhibitions, artist residencies, performance spaces, archives, workshops, research spaces, and experimental programming focused on art, architecture, photography, design, and environmental issues. Founded by Swiss art patron Maja Hoffmann in 2013, LUMA Arles has further cemented the city’s status as a contemporary art destination of international importance. Built on the former SNCF railway industrial site known as the Parc des Ateliers, LUMA Arles spans eight 19th-century industrial buildings, a landscaped park by Bas Smets, and a 56-meter tower designed by architect Frank Gehry.

The LUMA Tower, inaugurated on June 26, 2021, is clad in 11,000 stainless-steel panels designed to capture and reflect the shifting light of Arles, the same light that drew Van Gogh more than a century earlier. Gehry stated that the building’s design was inspired by Van Gogh’s paintings, the soaring limestone formations of the Camargue region, and the Romanesque architecture he first discovered when he visited Arles as a student in 1959.

THE CAMARGUE: LANDSCAPE, TEXTURE, AND THE COLORS OF SOUTHERN FRANCE

Arles sits at the gateway to the Camargue, the vast wetland delta of the Rhône River stretching south to the Mediterranean coast. Covering more than 100,000 hectares, the Camargue is one of the largest wetlands in Western Europe, as a protected landscape of salt marshes, lagoons, rice fields, and open grasslands. Its white Camargue horses, black bulls, and pink flamingos are iconic images of Provençal identity.

The Camargue’s influence on art and fashion is significant. The region has long served as a visual reference for photographers, filmmakers, and designers drawn to its vast horizons, distinctive textures, and raw natural beauty. Its palette of the pale grey of salt flats, the deep pink of flamingo colonies, the bleached white of limestone and horse manes against dark water, provides a tonal vocabulary that resonates with AYT Studio’s approach to color and material.

WHY ARLES ALIGNS WITH AYT STUDIO’S ART-TO-WEAR IDENTITY

Arles offers a city where world-class contemporary art, a globally significant photography festival, and the untamed landscape of the Camargue all exist within walking distance of one another. In Arles, art is not confined to institutions, rather spinning into the streets and shaping everyday life.

This is the quality that drew Yasmine Azizi to choose Arles for the AYT Studio pop-up. The city’s cultural identity reflects the same principles that guide the brand: that art should move, and that creativity should be worn and lived.

AYT Studio’s limited-edition garments belong in a city like Arles. They are made for women who seek out art, who travel with intention, and who understand that what they wear is an extension of how they see the world.

WHAT TO WEAR FROM AYT STUDIO IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE

The AYT Studio collection was designed for women who move between art, travel, and everyday life, and the south of France is exactly the setting where these pieces feel most at home. Here is how you could style AYT Studio pieces for three days in Arles.

For daytime exploring — walking through Arles’s narrow streets, visiting the Fondation Vincent van Gogh or browsing the galleries near Place du Forum — the ‘Cloud of Birds’ printed silk shirt is an ideal starting point. Crafted from 100 % Italian twill silk with an oversized graphic print inspired by REMED’s painting ‘Bel Envol’, it feels light in the Provençal heat while making an unmistakably artistic statement. Pair it with the ‘Tribe’ high-rise curved-leg jeans in deep blue, made from 100 % recycled cotton with an ankle slit detail, for a look that balances masculine ease with creative confidence. Add the ‘Cloud of Birds’ silk carré scarf tied loosely at the neck or knotted around the wrist for a finishing touch of color.

For an afternoon visit to LUMA Arles or a long walk through the Camargue, the ‘Mirage’ long blue dress moves beautifully in open air. Its fluid silhouette, plunging V-neckline, and discreet side pockets make it both elegant and practical, while the white bird embroidery adds a quiet artistic signature. Carry the Lien Pouch in Black Leather and Silk to easily hold your essentials throughout the day.

For evening — a dinner in the courtyard of a Provençal restaurant, perhaps — the ‘Aura’ long dress in black and gold trompe captures light and movement the way the Arles sky does at sunset. Made from fluid viscose and elastane with an asymmetrical shoulder, the ‘Aura’ dress features the ‘Femme & Sphère’ artwork by REMED. Pair it with the Lien Pouch in Black and Gold Leather, whose reversible design echoes the same artwork, for a fully art-to-wear evening silhouette. Alternatively, layer the ‘Temperance’ silk shirt in black over the ‘Tribe’ jeans in cream for a look that moves easily from a rooftop drink to a late Provençal supper.

The ‘Bel Envol’ silk carré scarf, printed on twill silk with a vivid, colorful graphic inspired by REMED’s painting, ties the entire wardrobe together. Worn as a headscarf against the sun, draped over shoulders at dusk, or knotted around a bag handle, it is the piece that travels most freely between every moment in the south of France.

THE AYT STUDIO POP-UP IN ARLES: MAY 28–30, 2026

The AYT Studio pop-up in Arles took place from May 28 to May 30, 2026, at L’Appartement Madamepresse, 6 rue Dulau (1st floor), in the heart of Arles. The space was open daily from 10:30 AM to 7:00 PM.

Created in collaboration with embroidery artist Aurélie Conquet, the pop-up was conceived as an immersive experience where textile art, pieces from the AYT Studio collection, and Mediterranean inspirations come together. Visitors discovered AYT Studio’s art-to-wear garments and accessories in collaboration with French artist REMED.

FAQ

When and where was the AYT Studio pop-up in Arles?

The AYT Studio pop-up took place from May 28 to May 30, 2026, at L’Appartement Madamepresse, 6 rue Dulau (1st floor), Arles, France. The space was open daily from 10:30 AM to 7:00 PM. The pop-up was created in collaboration with embroidery artist Aurélie Conquet.

Why did AYT Studio choose Arles for its pop-up?

AYT Studio chose Arles because the city’s cultural identity — shaped by its Roman monuments, the legacy of Vincent van Gogh, the internationally acclaimed Rencontres d’Arles photography festival, the LUMA Arles contemporary art campus, and the natural beauty of the nearby Camargue region — aligns closely with the brand’s art-to-wear philosophy. Founder Yasmine Azizi selected Arles as a destination where art, heritage, and contemporary creativity converge.

What is AYT Studio?

AYT Studio is a Paris-based art-to-wear fashion brand founded by Yasmine Azizi in 2024. AYT Studio creates limited-edition garments and accessories in collaboration with contemporary artists. The brand’s first edition was created with French artist REMED, blending vibrant color, artistic prints, and refined craftsmanship.

What was shown at the AYT Studio pop-up in Arles?

The AYT Studio pop-up in Arles presented the brand’s ready-to-wear clothing collection. The pop-up  created in collaboration with embroidery artist Aurélie Conquet, blending textile art with pieces from the AYT Studio × REMED collection.

What is the Rencontres d’Arles photography festival?

Les Rencontres d’Arles is one of the most internationally recognized photography festivals in the world. Founded in 1970 by photographer Lucien Clergue, writer Michel Tournier, and historian Jean-Maurice Rouquette, the festival takes place every summer in Arles, presenting over 40 exhibitions across churches, warehouses, courtyards, and historic buildings throughout the city.

What is LUMA Arles?

LUMA Arles is an interdisciplinary contemporary art campus founded by Swiss art patron Maja Hoffmann in 2013. Located on the former Parc des Ateliers railway site in Arles, LUMA includes eight renovated 19th-century industrial buildings and a 56-meter tower designed by architect Frank Gehry (1929–2025). LUMA Arles presents exhibitions, artist residencies, and programming across art, design, photography, and environmental research.

SUMMARY

Theme	Key Information
Event	AYT Studio pop-up in Arles — May 28–30, 2026, at L’Appartement Madamepresse, 6 rue Dulau
Brand	AYT Studio — Paris-based art-to-wear fashion brand
Founder	Yasmine Azizi (founded AYT Studio in 2024)
Artist Collaboration	REMED (Guillaume Alby, born in Paris, 1978); embroidery artist Aurélie Conquet
City	Arles, France
Cultural Landmarks	Roman amphitheatre, Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles, LUMA Arles (Frank Gehry tower), Les Rencontres d’Arles
Van Gogh Connection	Vincent van Gogh lived in Arles 1888–1889, producing over 300 works
Rencontres d’Arles	Founded 1970; 57th edition: July 6 – October 4, 2026
LUMA Arles	Founded 2013 by Maja Hoffmann; tower by Frank Gehry (1929–2025), inaugurated 2021
Camargue Region	Wetland delta south of Arles — 100,000+ hectares, white horses, black bulls, pink flamingos
Key Pieces for the South of France	‘Cloud of Birds’ silk shirt, ‘Mirage’ blue dress, ‘Aura’ black and gold dress, ‘Temperance’ silk shirt, ‘Tribe’ jeans, ‘Bel Envol’ and ‘Cloud of Birds’ scarves, Lien Pouch

Discover the art-to-wear collections of AYT Studio — where painting and sculpture become garments — at aytstudio.com.