The world of fashion is often initiated through clothing, yet the significance of location can dramatically alter the entire narrative. The vibrant light of Cairo, the vivid colors of Marrakech, the unique rock formations of AlUla, and the architectural remnants of various eras are elements that transcend mere backdrops, collaborating with photographers and creative directors to shape the visual story. On International Photography Day, celebrated on August 19, we draw attention to the prominent presence of the Middle East and North Africa in numerous photographs and campaigns that have drawn inspiration from the region’s cities, landscapes, and architectural styles. Among the recent campaigns is Casablanca's Autumn/Winter 2026 initiative, which was set against the backdrop of Cairo, showcasing the diverse perspectives photographers adopt while capturing the essence of the region—from documenting the pulse of the city to transforming the desert, architecture, and color into fundamental elements of visual storytelling.
Casablanca in Cairo: A Traveler's Perspective
In its latest visual chapter, Casablanca chose Cairo as the backdrop for its Autumn/Winter 2026 campaign titled 'Carnet de Voyage: A Journey Through Cairo,' photographed by Theo Liu. This campaign embarks on a journey of discovery through Cairo as seen through the eyes of a young traveler, merging ancient landmarks with the spontaneity of daily life. The images beautifully intertwine the vivid colors of local architecture and bold stories with cafes, decor, and local characters, while featuring talents from the Egyptian cinema industry. Cairo complements the world of Casablanca, which has always been linked to travel, escape, and color; however, in this instance, the city adds an additional layer. Instead of merely relying on an idealized image of Egypt or easily recognizable symbols, the lens captures the energy of the place, its inhabitants, and daily details, effectively making the city a character within the campaign.
From Marrakech to AlUla: The Role of Place in Visual Storytelling
Casablanca's campaign is not an isolated case. In recent years, the region has emerged in fashion photography from various angles, with the location itself becoming a tool in creative direction. For instance, in Marrakech, Saint Laurent returned to Villa Oasis for its Winter 2025 campaign, the home where Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé lived. The campaign, directed by Drew Vickers, capitalizes on the villa's colorful environment: warm-hued walls, zellij tilework, lush gardens, and deep blues. Here, the image conveys a unique relationship with the place; Marrakech becomes an integral part of Yves Saint Laurent's personal and visual history, making the return to it an extension of the house's own memory.
In Marrakech, Moroccan photographer Hicham Benohoud presented a fashion story for Another Man magazine in 2025, featuring a fully local crew. The photographs, which juxtaposed global fashion with local personalities, offered a perspective from a photographer deeply embedded in the environment he portrayed, challenging the notion of treating the location merely as a shooting destination. AlUla has also carved out a distinct visual presence in the fashion world over recent years. In a dedicated session for Vogue Arabia featuring Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda, Saudi photographer Rayan Nawawi captured the designs against the backdrop of the oasis, mud architecture, and palm trees in AlUla. Here, the opulence of Italian craftsmanship and embroidery meshed seamlessly with local materials and architecture, creating imagery that arose from the contrast and dialogue between the two worlds.
Rami Kadi's house took this a step further with its Spring/Summer 2024 collection, Les Miroirs, which visually linked to AlUla, specifically the Mirrored Building. The concept of reflective surfaces was echoed in the materials and textures used in the designs, while the collection's images placed the garments against the vast rock formations of the desert, integrating the relationship between nature, architecture, and fashion into the creative idea itself.
The common thread in these images is not a singular aesthetic of the Middle East. On the contrary, their differences reveal the vast visual vocabulary that the region offers. In Cairo, there is movement, accumulation, memory, and daily life. In Marrakech, color, ornamentation, gardens, and a historical relationship with fashion and art emerge. Meanwhile, AlUla presents a different visual scale, where the desert, natural formations, and both ancient and contemporary architecture place humans and fashion against a backdrop that appears almost cinematic. This is where the role of the photographer and creative director becomes crucial. The choice of camera angle, characters, lighting, and how fashion is positioned within the space determines whether the location remains just a beautiful scene or transforms into a genuine element of the story.
Moreover, the works of local photographers such as Rayan Nawawi and Hicham Benohoud reveal another dimension to this relationship; the images come from lenses that inherently possess a cultural and visual connection to the environments they depict. On International Photography Day, these campaigns provide an opportunity to view fashion imagery as more than a means of showcasing clothing. The photographer can turn the location into a memory, mood, movement, and color, while creative direction can foster a dialogue between brand identity and the identity of the place.
From Cairo, as traversed by Casablanca like a traveler, to Marrakech, which retains a piece of Saint Laurent's memory, and AlUla through different lenses and experiences, the Middle East continues to present visual spaces that defy easy encapsulation in a single image. The most impactful photographs are those that allow the location to shine through with its authentic character, where fashion meets architecture, culture, and people, and the lens becomes a tool for rediscovering the place.
As reported by hiamag.com.
