Saint Laurent Launches Art Project With Japanese Photographer Daido Moriyama


Saint Laurent creative director Anthony Vaccarello is no stranger to inciting industry buzz, from having models literally walk on water at the label’s spring 2019 show to casting Travis Scott for its latest campaign. On Wednesday, the French fashion house announced Self, a project where Vaccarello will handpick artists to portray different aspects of Saint Laurent’s spirit while also exploring the concept of personality. “This project is an artistic commentary on society while emphasizing the core values of Saint Laurent,” the brand said in a statement.

 

Japanese photographer Daido Moriyama, known for his black-and-white images of underground scenes in Japan, is the first artist chosen. Moriyama first came to the scene in the ’60s, where he captured the aftermath and effects of the Second World War.

 

 

In a 2017 interview with BOMB, Moriyama discussed why he’s drawn to his particular line of work.

 

“For me, everything is in the city. Cities are galleries, museums, libraries, movies, and theaters. I perceive cities to be all of these things, and that’s why I photograph them,” he said. “They are alive with a breakneck momentum, with a vitality like an incredible creature or monster. There are always multiple encounters presented before you, and every time I go out I feel the external world crumbling my own self-consciousness.”

 

Moriyama’s work, which will feature models dressed in, of course, Saint Laurent, will be on display from November 9-11 at the Galerie d’Orléans courtyard of the Palais-Royal garden in Paris. The exhibition will be open to the public as part of the Paris Photo Fair.

 

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