In early 2025, a digital advert opened with the Palestinian rapper Saint Levant (Marwan Abdelhamid) advertising the launch of YSL’s new Paris restaurant, Saint Laurent Sushi Park. Saint Levant has incurred a lot of criticisms of his argumentative support of the Palestinian causes including the inflammatory sentiments he has uttered that could be regarded as antisemitism, besides the promulgation of violence against Israelis. Jewish organizations and pro-Israel activists were vocal in opposing this brand association and campaigning boycotts of the company, claiming that by associating itself with the rapper, the company was appealing to antisemites. In social media, the initiative caused some conflicting debates and calls not to buy YSL and to criticize its representative.
Another theme that is very notable in the music and activism of Saint Levant is the case of Palestine, which he regards as a conflict against decades of occupation and dispossession. His open and politically incorrect support of Palestinian causes has earned the organization a lot of condemnations, as YSL has promoted his image and messages. Under the pretext of choosing Saint Levant, critics of YSL say that the company is further propagating the flames of tensions and antisemitic sentiments into the script that declares doubt on the capabilities of Israel to further exist. Until now, the French corporation has not made any official statements on these questions.
The brand and its global influence
Yves Saint Laurent, or YSL as it is often called, is one of the most recognizable and the most remarkable luxury fashion companies in the world. The brand was founded in 1962 by the renowned designer, Yves Saint Laurent, and Pierre Bergé (his business companion). Ever since it happened, it has quickly become widely familiar, and it has left quite the impression on the fashion business and the global culture as a whole. YSL has been credited as transforming the world of women’s fashion by offering a new brand of designs that were more pronounced and challenged the gender barriers, and empowered women in the designs.
Among the most fashionable and alluring designs of the brand is the invention in the year 1966 of the women’s tuxedo known as Le Smoking, which broke the way of fashion and masculinity in dressing.
The venture of the Yves Saint-Laurent Rive Gauche store in Paris meant that it was the first couture house to market an exclusive ready-to-wear line and a model having a folio in the international fashion trade domain. This has significantly facilitated the change in the perception of what hitherto were often regarded as off-the-rack ready-to-wear into being high-end, specialised, and most market-desired in the luxury fashion world. YSL is a 100 percent luxurious lifestyle product that not only creates a difference in clothes, but also in accessories, cosmetics, and fragrances.
The symbolism of the brand as a symbolic gift of sophistication, rebellion, and creativity has, over the years, been enhanced by its affiliation with artists, celebrities, and other people in the cultural world. The instantly recognizable logo created by A. M. Cassandre in 1963 is one of the most recognizable in the field of luxurious clothes.
Recent campaigns and the association with Palestinian rapper Saint Levant
Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) has received a lot of backlash when it recently promoted a Japanese restaurant in Paris called Saint Laurent Sushi Park, wherein it was done in tandem with Peter Park. The inclusion of the Palestinian rapper Marwan Abdelhamid under his stage name Saint Levant in the campaign stirred up a lot of controversy and in particular, Jewish groups and pro-Israeli interests worldwide.
Rapper Saint Levant, 24, has been gaining attention all over the globe not only because of his musical work but also his verbal political views towards the Palestinian cause. His antisemitism, with its incitations to violence against supporters of Israel, has been criticized publicly.
In one of the cases, he caused controversy by backing rioting against the Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer club fans at one of his Amsterdam performances in 2024.
Critics have also viewed YSL’s move to be identified with Saint Levant as an indication of tacit support of the person, who shares the divisive political opinions. A number of Jewish pressure groups enacted a boycott of YSL over this move, with the claim that YSL was employing its ambassador to promote antisemitism. An outpouring of anger was expressed on social networking, which was filled with demonstrations, Israeli flags, and symbolic pictures of hostages.
Who is Saint Levant? His political views and controversies
Marwan Abdelhamid, known by the title Saint Levant, is a Palestinian singer-songwriter and rapper who is known to present his musical pieces in a multilingual style and do vocal political activism. Born to a mixed ethnic background: his father, Palestinian-Serbian, his mother, French-Algerian, on October 6, 2000, in Jerusalem during the Second Intifada, Saint Levant traces his roots back to Lebanese, Japanese, and Filipinos, on his father’s and French and Algerians, on his mother’s. He has spent a good part of his youth in Gaza before migrating to Jordan and then the United States in order to obtain his university education.
The style of the music offered by Saint Levant, which is sung in Arabic, French, and English, is characterized by the fusion between modern R&B and hip-hop and the artistic elements of traditional Arabic music. His breakthrough came with his 2022 single, a trilingual song which gained millions of views on social sites such as Instagram and TikTok, and was ranked among the top songs on its release; Very Few Friends. His work is often an amalgamation of political themes intertwined with a personal story, with an accentuation of the Palestinian cause, especially. Politically, Saint Levant advocates strongly for the rights of Palestinians and on the question of resistance, displacement, and occupation in his lyrics and other media comments. His art and activism are interrelated to raise awareness about Palestinian history and affairs. His media image is cultivated in the aspect of his vocalized campaigns against Israel’s injustices committed against the Palestinians.
He is controversial because of his outspokenness. The discussions of his public life and business relations, especially the widely known collaboration with Yves Saint Laurent, have been sparked due to his opinion and promotion of unpopular political views, including antisemitism. His statements promoting violence on behalf of rioting against Israel supporters, as well as references to violent behaviour in politically polarised scenarios, have raised massive controversy, especially by pro-Israel-based organisations.
Accusations of antisemitism and boycott calls
In early 2025, Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) experienced a lot of opprobrium after posting a marketing campaign that featured Palestinian rapper Saint Levant. The rapper, whose full name is Marwan Abdelhamid, has been accused of antisemitic remarks and, in general, promoting violent behavior against Israelis. YSL has come under criticism of being antisemitic because he hobnobbed with him. Saint Levant appeared in the opening sequence in the promotional film, driving visitors, including celebrities, to the opening of the restaurant with the name of Saint Laurent Sushi Park in Paris. Pro-Israel activists immediately criticized the brand once the campaign was published on YSL social media accounts, with many people urging to boycott of the brand by using the hashtag #BoycottYSL. The group StopAntisemitism provided special criticism of YSL working with what the group called a vile antisemite.
The controversial observation by Saint Levant had been in the spotlight in the aftermath of a concert he had organized in Amsterdam, November 2024, and in which he advocated the violent assault of fans of the Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer club. He was grateful to our Moroccan brothers due to their attitude during the concert, which was generally received as an admission that they were ugly. As an answer to online pro-Israel celebrations, the rapper increased his endeavors by expressing his endorsement of such actions in the most uncaring manner.
Is fashion apolitical in a polarized world?
Such a suggestion of fashion being completely apolitical is not quite catching up in the globalized and politically-minded world either. Stakeholders of the fashion industry, such as customers, activists, have pressured industry players to take a stand on the political, social, and environmental issues. The brands are marketed with the messages of defence of human rights, environmentalism, and diversity, which cannot be promoted without any other problems; therefore, they may not be neutral.
