Saint Laurent Campaign Sparks Outrage Over Thin Models and Provocative Poses

The latest Saint Laurent advertising campaign, photographed by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, has ignited public outrage for featuring extremely thin models in contorted, provocative poses. Critics on social media have accused the images of promoting submission and objectification, but the article argues that such moralizing campaigns are ineffective and passé. The brand's artistic director Anthony Vaccarello, who joined fourteen months ago, is shaping a new direction for the Parisian house, and the campaign reflects his aesthetic. However, the piece suggests that the real issue is the aging of the internationally renowned image-making duo, whose work for luxury brands like Chanel, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton has become formulaic. In 2017, the relentless pursuit of edginess feels forced, especially as reality itself has become extraordinary. The photographers, based in Manhattan studios or artificial sets in Paris, London, and Milan, might benefit from looking beyond their bubble to places like Milan's Corvetto district, Paris's Bobigny, Aulnay, Clichy, and Sevran, south of Brixton in London, or Catania's port, where real submission and disorder abound among arriving migrants.