Saint Laurent keeps cool in the desert for their SS23 men’s show
Vaccarello presents flowing fabrics and reconfigured classic silhouettes for a refreshing Saint Laurent menswear SS23 collection
Designer Yves Saint Laurent always had a love affair with Morocco. He fell for the country the second he set foot there in 1966, setting up home at his infamous Oasis villa in Marrakesh, a refuge from busy Paris. Anthony Vaccarello, Saint Laurent’s current Creative Director, has returned to Morocco for their Men’s Spring Summer 2023 show, with a fluid collection that blends the modern-day Saint Laurent with some beloved staples of the brand’s wardrobe.
The setting for the show was nothing short of cinematic, set in the middle of the Agafay desert. Inspired by Paul Bowles’ 1949 novel The Sheltering Sky, Vaccarello worked with London designer Es Devlin to create a futuristic oasis that looked like something dreamed up by Dune director Denis Villeneuve.
The cool kids were brought out to the desert heat, glittering like spice in the desert air of Arrakis, with Jamie Campbell Bower, Sami Outalbali, Alek Wek, Catherine Deneuve, Anson Boon, Dominic Fike, and Vincent Gallo all present.
Vaccarello’s collections continue to blur the masculine and feminine. The models walked the desert runway in an elegant collection that dissolves gender preconceptions. The tuxedo that runs through the brand’s history has been reworked, with new collars, bigger shoulders, cinching, and oversizing; mixing high waists with boxy silhouettes and trousers with oceans of fabric, it disrupts what’s expected of the suit, and further alludes to the desert’s juxtaposition of softness and harshness.
Shapes in the collection are more relaxed and flowy, with chic and sheer blouses with pussybows and shirts that billowed in the breeze, complimenting the toughness of angular oversized outerwear. The Saint Laurent monochrome has been softened with desert hues of creams, taupes, and sand, which works perfectly with the billowing wide leg trousers and lighter pieces that melt off the body. Clever and cohesive, subtle while getting loud where needed, it’s never cooler to be in the desert heat.
Check out a gallery of images from the show below.
