Stargate Saint Laurent

Marrakech. One of Monsieur Yves Saint Laurent's most beloved places, a place he had elected as his retreat since his first visits in the 1960s. And today, Anthony Vaccarello chose to pay homage to one of the passions of the founder of the Kering group maison with a fashion show in the desert of Agafay, where an imposing oasis was recreated together with London-based artist and stage designer Ed Devlin.

The result? An epic, cinematic close for the Men’s Spring-Summer 2023 season, which Vaccarello decided to share by turning the spotlight back on another icon of the ysl world, the tuxedo, revisited and reinterpreted in the shoulders with an ever-so-rock touch. Total black to start with, in order to have silhouettes that stood out as if drawn by pencils against the desert dunes. Masculine and feminine mixed and canceled each other out. Thus, lines softened by borrowing the relaxed silhouettes of the place, forging elongated physiques of alien glamour. Nude looks, bows and vampy necks covered by aerial scarves, satins and a fur coat. Tuxedo jackets and long trench coats, impalpable shirts and deluxe leather. They were seventies souls, quoting David Bowie and the man who fell to earth. Space Oddity and Betty Catroux’s magnetic androgyny. «It is a bridge between the past and the present,» Anthony Vaccarello himself explained to MFF minutes before the show (see box), in that mirrored backstage camouflaged and invisible as a spaceship on a secret mission. The mirrored walls reflected the arrival of guests and friends of the fashion house, from Catherine Deneuve to Vincent Gallo, from Beatrice Dalle to Anja Rubik. As well as a universe of actors, videomakers, influencers, tiktokers, forming a community that, coming from the digital world, have breathed the air of cursed rock stars.

Judgment. From the magic circle oasis, a maxi ring slowly raised in the hot wind. Saint Laurent's stargate opened creating a happy collision between past and future, between the dna of the fashion house and Vaccarello's soul. A precise and sharp collection with set-up, production and a maxi show for special occasions. A true fashion moment. (All rights reserved)