The Saint Laurent parade in the Moroccan desert raises the question of greenwashing

The optical phenomenon of mirages proceeds from the deflection of light beams by superimposing layers of air of different heat, in an atmosphere where the temperature, pressure and humidity do not vary vertically according to the norm. So you can find yourself in the middle of the desert and have the impression of seeing an oasis pop up out of nowhere … or a fashion show. But there it was not a mirage, but the latest show of a great fashion brand.

On July 15, 2022, the Saint Laurent fashion house, artistically directed by Anthony Vaccarello (from April 2016) presented its new spring-summer 2023 men’s collection. Or outside of the men’s fashion week planned for this purpose. And for good reason: it marched in Agafay, a desert located about thirty kilometers from Marrakech. It is therefore at the edge of the red city, on the heights of the High Atlas massif in Morocco, that slender and androgynous silhouettes walked.

The Saint Laurent men’s Spring-Summer 2023 fashion show in the Agafay desert

In the middle of the beige sand dunes there was also a work of the artist Es Devlin, in the shape of a huge luminous ring on the water.. A scenography by Anthony Vaccarello, inspired by a passage from the novel A tea in the Sahara (1949) by American author Paul Bowles (1910-1999): How many times do you still watch the full moon rise? Maybe twenty times. Yet it all seems unlimited “.

This monumental installation could evoke a mirage of a minimalist oasis as much as a twilight moon (or a parody of the series Stargate SG-1). What acts as an evanescent background liquid trench coats, airy velvet capes, loose, flowing high-waisted trousers and lots of airy blouses with bow. And, of course, many grain de poudre tuxedosstylistic signature of the house.

Behind the mirage of a fashion show, greenwashing?

If we can find this sublime collection, and rejoice that Anthony Vaccarello has avoided the trap of a first degree homage collection to Morocco, we can also question its ecological footprint. Some media outlets welcome the house’s efforts to offset its carbon footprint. As the Vanity Fair France Who is writing:

“By marching off the official calendar, and therefore not being able to take advantage of the press, influencers and buyers attending Paris Fashion Week, it is essential that you make an impression – what is this show like no other [sic] it is undeniably successful. But at a time when environmental awareness is every season more acute [sic], Saint Laurent has implemented an important system aimed at limiting the footprint of the event as much as possible, starting with consultation with local flora and fauna experts, in particular reptiles and birds. Along the paths traveled to accompany guests to the restaurant [sic] of the parade, specific piping systems were set up to allow the shelter of animals, especially those in humid environments. The water used, which is not drinkable, will then be used for irrigation projects in the Agafay desert.

However, he pretends to ignore that all these beautiful people invited, like Catherine Deneuve, Béatrice Dalle, the actor ofEuphoria Dominic Fike, or South Korean GOT7 boy band member Mark Tuan, was certainly not passing through Marrakech on the day of the parade. Surely they were hired from the house to watch this 10 minute maximum time show (this is the average time of a parade, and what the video confirms verbatim of the event, which lasts 9:47 minutes …). The same goes for the modeling booth and the Saint Laurent staff to make up, dress, nourish and hydrate this cohort.

A parade representative of the sector’s ambivalence in the face of the climate emergency

Far from being an exception, this parade and its media reception illustrate once again the ambivalence, not to mention aporia, of the fashion industry in the face of environmental issues. She who wants to both constantly arouse desire and renew it, concatenating new collections and spectacular presentations. (therefore expensive from a financial, social and environmental point of view) to make people dream, and invite beautiful people to talk. At the same time, he wishes to present himself as aware of the accelerated ecocide we all suffereven if it means pouring into the greenwashing and the social washing (pretending to care about social justice issues for marketing purposes). And the fashion print, largely funded by these luxury brands, has no choice but to repeat. to absurd the language elements provided by the latter to try in vain to justify this whole system.

While France (like many other countries) is experiencing a terrible heatwave, the gossip might say. the French house Saint Laurent will soon no longer need to travel to Morocco to find a desert where to parade…

Title photo credit: Courtesy of Saint Laurent.