Casablanca 'For The Peace' Fall 2023 Ad Campaign

Review of Casablanca ‘For The Peace’ Fall 2023 Ad Campaign by Creative Director Charaf Tajar with Photographer Remi Ferrantes with models Nour Rizkh, Nadia Khaya, Ali Latif, Abas Abdirazaq

In June 2023, luxury fashion house Casablanca presented ‘For The Peace’, using the Paris Fashion Week runway as a platform to celebrate vibrancy and youth in Syria; Syrian people not just existing but living, loving and celebrating. After a moving personal experience in Damascus, creative director Charaf Tajer realised that this was an important story – one that could be told not only from the perspective of shade, but from the perspective of light, of beauty, of art. And so, the AW23 collection For The Peace, was born.

The AW23 campaign ‘Love Against War’, shot in Beirut, continues this narrative – shining a light on the courage and kindness of humanity and looks to encourage empathy, understanding, and unity. In war, there’s destruction and despair. Yet, hidden within the shadows of conflict, there exists an untold narrative of resilience, compassion, and love that transcends the barriers imposed by violence. The campaign imagery reflects this paradox; against a backdrop of war, of pain: a passion for beauty, for love, for the simple right to live, conquers all.

The campaign narrative is born from the same powerful story that inspired the collection itself, told by Maya Chantout, art director and friend of Charaf Tajer. A story of ordinary young people risking everything to find joy. Trapped by the fear of bombardment, for them, partying is an act of courage and resistance. Love Against War seeks to tell the stories largely untold; stories of real lives in Syria, where beauty and devastation co-exist.

“In 2012, I had to leave my beloved Syria because of the war. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I consider myself lucky, but I can’t shake off the guilt of surviving. I admire my friends for their strength, their ability to find hope in new ways. My grandparents, they never wanted to leave, my grandfather stayed for his land and his olive trees, and my grandmother stayed for him. Their humanity inspires me every day, how they kept living, loving, and moving forward, even in the darkest times. They taught me the power of hope and the importance of cherishing life even in the darkest of times.”
Maya Chantout

“Last year, my friend Maya told me an incredible story about young people in Syria who were prepared to risk everything in search of joy. In every country affected by war, people are just humans, and become resilient in a political crisis to just live. It’s a reminder to celebrate and cherish life in any condition, and is a lesson we should all learn from them. With this campaign, it is important for us to show the paradox of finding love and beauty, where there is pain and destruction. It’s easy to see the world in black and white. Good or evil. Happiness or pain. War or peace. But in reality, we are surrounded by nuance, colours and shades”

Charaf Tajer, Founder and Creative Director