Saint Laurent returns to Marrakech for the Men's Spring/Summer 2023 collection
Set in the Agafay desert, Anthony Vaccarello honors Yves Saint Laurent's love of Marrakech for the Saint Laurent Men's Spring/Summer 2023 collection. Check out every look below.
Yves Saint Laurent made his first visit to Marrakech, Morocco in 1966 and immediately fell in love. He bought a house there to escape from the bustling city of Paris, now a museum of his work, and the said the city taught him about color.
Current Creative Director Anthony Vaccarello has continued the brand's love affair with Morocco, setting Saint Laurent's Men's Spring/Summer 2023 collection in the Agafay Desert, just outside of Marrakech. In collaboration with London-based artist and designer Es Devlin, Vaccarello created a breathtaking set, inspired by Paul Bowles' 1949 novel, The Sheltering Sky. An illuminated ring rose from a pool of water during the final walk, casting a glow on the newest designs.
The designs themselves almost became part of the natural setting. The relaxed sihloettes and double-stacked scarves trailed behind the models as they walked against the wind, like brushstrokes across the sand and sky. Even with an emphasis on the relaxed lifestyle of Marrakech, the quintessential Saint Laurent tailored tuxedo found it's way down the desert runway, this time reinterpreted in lightweight silk-faille.
The juxtaposition between the ease of Marrakech and the structure of Paris was woven throughout the whole collection. Sharply tailored suits paired with thong sandals, oversized fur coats with open blouses, double breasted coats made of Grain de poudre (a favorite fabric of Yves Saint Laurent himself) with flowing wide-leg pants. Along with the melding of two cities, Saint Laurent once again blurs the line between menswear and womenswear. Chic pussybow blouses and a sleek leather boot version of the Saint Laurent Vesper heel were shown alongside bouble-breasted and shoulder-padded coats. Vaccarello's Saint Laurent pushes the boundaries of fashion to it's limits, but in the words of Bowles, "and yet it all seems limitless."