Continuing to mine the house’s bohemian era, Hedi Slimane today announced plans to move Saint Laurent’s headquarters to Paris’ Rive Gauche, following a similar migration of the ateliers in early 2014, including the couture division. It won’t be complete until 2018, however, after extensive renovations have been made to the large stone complex — Penthémont Cistercian Abbey (37 rue de Bellechasse, 75007) — that dates back to 1671. Following the French Revolution, the abbey was converted into barracks and more recently used by the ministry of armed forces.

Naturally, Slimane will oversee every detail of the remodeling, just as he did with the relocation of the ateliers to 24 rue de l’Université, where he most notably assembled a collection of modernist artworks, including Jean-Michel Frank, Ad Reinhardt, Carl André, Sol Lewitt, Daniel Buren, and Elizabeth Eyre de Lanux. The two major efforts are part of Slimane’s overall strategy to anchor the house in the Left Bank, home to the original Rive Gauche store, opened in 1966, where the prêt-à-porter line was first sold. The first customer to venture to the neighborhood, a mecca for young artists and poets, was Catherine Deneuve.