BRINGING TECH TO THE DESERT, SAINT LAURENT
AND ES DEVLIN SCALE UP THE EMOTION OF RUNWAY DESIGN
Photo Courtesy of Saint Laurent
26 jul 2022, for frame
Location
40254 AGAFAY, Marrakesh 40254, Morocco
Design
Brand
Set against the backdrop of the Moroccan desert, a monumental kinetic ring created an emotional spatial experience for the fashion brand's SS23 Menswear show.
Key features
Saint Laurent’s SS23 Menswear show took place in a majestic setting: the Agafay desert, a 30-minute drive from Marrakech. The Es Devlin-designed runway was situated around a circular pond filled with water, its platform equipped with light sources and smoke machines. Scheduled for 20:45, the timing of the show was just right. As it got darker, a ring of light and mist emerged from so-called well as the finale entered twilight. The audience comprised 220 people, sat in front of a mirrored-covered amphitheatre. Devlin, who is known for creating innovative large-scale performatives-sculptures, posted on Instagram that the set design drew from Paul Bowles' 1949 novel The Sheltering Sky. A gigantic sculptural YSL logo completed the site to provide guests with a backdrop for photos.
Frame’s take
The scene – later dubbed ‘Stargate’ by Internet commentors – was one of apocalyptic beauty. Inspired by Bowles' message that many see life as an 'inexhaustible well’ without realizing that moving moments are countable, the YSL SS23 set offered one of the most poetic spatial experiences in recent fashion history. It was a highly technological, costly stage solution more reminiscent of a movie shoot than a fashion show. Notably, the presentation was not livestreamed online – a pre-recorded video took its place. That indicates a direction – separating the actual runway from what appears digitally – many high-end fashion houses may go in to create exclusivity for their clients.
Still, the brand must answer to justified post-show questions about the environmental impact of the complicated production and the logistics of the audience being present, especially considering its 10-minute duration.