For his latest Menswear runway show, Saint Laurent’s creative director Anthony Vaccarello, continued the trend of the destination fashion show, but instead of choosing a location based purely on aesthetics, he instead chose the setting for his latest tour de force as a touching homage to the man, Yves Saint Laurent himself, and an ode to the majestic beauty of Morocco.
Home to both Museé Saint Laurent and two of his former homes where he lived with his lifelong partner Pierre Bergé, including the famous Villa Oasis which neighbours the Majorelle Gardens. Marrakech held a deeply personal and intimate significance for Yves Saint Laurent, offering a refuge to his busy Parisian work schedule where he was able to enjoy a much calmer, easier rhythm of life.
Set against the awe-inspiring backdrop of the Agafay desert, an expanse of arid dunes and rocky mountain vistas about an hour away from the buzzing centre of Marrakech; Vaccarello opted to avoid touristy clichés entirely. Taking inspiration on themes explored in his Autumn Winter 2022 womenswear collection, Vaccarello reinvented his signature sleek tailoring, contrasting sharp lines with softer, relaxed ensembles; contemporary yet debonair variations on YSL’s seminal Le Smoking, louche pussy-bows and patent leather boots were paired with plunging v-necklines, babouche-esque sandals and gathered outwear; cut from an array of draped silks and YSL’s beloved Grain de poudre, in a palette of black, cream and stone grey with pops of powder pink, mauve and misty green. Blurring the lines between the masculine and feminine, elegantly dissolving the two into something entirely new.
Relating to YSL’s roots by re-tracing his own; Vaccarello looked back 20 years to when he was studying at La Cambre art school and the emerging Belgian fashion scene around him, recreating his own indie style from the early 2000’s as a teenager in Antwerp - an arm’s reach from the city’s famous Royal Academy of Fine Arts - in the form of satin trench coats, colossal shoulder pads, high-waisted flares and androgynous tailoring. The setting was completed by a showstopping installation created in collaboration with London-based artist and stage designer Es Devlin – inspired by Paul Bowles’1949 novel The Sheltering Sky – Devlin’s ring shaped luminous oasis stood seemingly suspended in mid-air above a lagoon, standing in stark contrast amid the vast arid expanse.
