September arrives with a shift in spirit. Summer fades into fall,  and the new season ushers in a sense of renewal. It feels like a month for discovery, for travel, for inspiration found in faraway places.

This month, our muse is Yves Saint Laurent, a designer whose vision was as worldly as it was timeless. Nowhere is this more beautifully expressed than at Villa Mabrouka, his former home in Tangier, Morocco. Recently transformed into a hotel, the villa remains a sanctuary of layered elegance: whitewashed walls, patterned tiles, lush green gardens alive with ferns and palms, and interiors that carry both restraint and romance. My own stay there this summer was transformative — so much so that it became the inspiration for my “Tangier Tent” room at the Flower Magazine Showhouse in Nashville (opening to the public on October 9.)

Morocco itself is a wellspring of ideas. The ryads and medinas, with their secret passages, vibrant colors, and intricate patterns, remind us of the beauty and craft infused in the Moroccan lifestyle. Terracotta pots brimming with greenery, sunlight filtering through latticework, the coolness of tiled courtyards… Tangier feels grounded yet exotic, ancient yet alive.

I am inspired by that mix of contrasts from a fashion perspective as well — think green military jackets, flowing caftans, and crisp safari shirts. In design, it translates into spaces that feel both structured and free — rooms swathed in one fabric, rooms tented with drapery for texture and movement, and rooms that transport you to another time and place.

As Yves himself once said, “Fashions fade, style is eternal.” September reminds us of that truth and invites us to embrace style with a sense of history, romance with a sense of place, beauty with a sense of soul.

Here’s to September and to the enduring allure of Tangier.