Anthony Vaccarello re-created quintessential YSL. As homages go, this was good as it was tremendously fun
It was not the first time that it rained during Anthony Vaccarello's Saint Laurent presentation. His second collection for the maison in 2017, for example, was met with a downpour. But the inclement weather this time bode well for him even if it caused the show to start late. Mr Vaccarello is probably the only designer working for a house not his, who has no qualms in bringing back the past again and again, and respecting the sometimes rather dreaded house codes. This time, he went to the man himself, or how Mr Saint Laurent used to appear in public during the years he did still go out, to nightclubs, such as Le Sept and, later, Le Palace. More than half of the looks captured YSL menswear of '80s. This could have been a men's show sans male models. And to capture the evocative mood, some of the women's hair were style in the manner Mr Saint Laurent used to wear his. And those glasses!
Unveiled within the dramatic courtyard of the Saint Laurent HQ on Rue de Bellechasse, with its open, gold-hued roof (rather than in the shadows of the Eiffel Tower, as it had been in the recent past), this could be Mr Vaccarello's most accomplished collection. We liked how reminiscent it was of the work of YSL, but also how not repetitive it could have been. Sure, Mr Vaccarello can sometimes really fledge the horse of one idea or become too obsessed with retro-ness or sexiness. The current season isn't gregariously courting wide variety, but within the looks he has assembled to recall the styles associated with Mr Saint Laurent, he did aim for assortment. The tailoring of the trouser-suits, with the strong shoulders of the blazer and the roomy, high-waisted pants (not quite yet the singular 'pant'!) were spot-on (no skirt-suits!), without going too Annie Hall. So were the bulky blousons (sometimes over double-breasted jackets), but perhaps a tad too mafia-fierce for most women to consider.
When once it looked as if the models were squeezed into the clothes (often scanty), it now appeared that they could barely fill them up. In that regard, Mr Vaccarello has now kept to the spirit even more of YSL, who never created skin-tight, clingy clothes. Just as his suits were not constrictive, his dresses tended to be flowy and romantically soft. The beauty of the show was how it moved from the menswear that informed Mr Saint Laurent's womenswear to the pleasant peasant dresses that he was known for (and which Tom Ford did not quite successfully evoke in his revival of YSL in 1999). This time, Mr Vaccarello made them tougher-looking by teaming them with beefed-up leather jackets, but still keeping the romanticism with the generous pussy bows and the swirling, tiered skirts.
Most nostalgia-stirring (especially, we are sure, for those who consider YSL their fashion hero; no less Marc Jacobs and our own Andrew Gn), were those cropped silk, jewel-toned or metallic brocade jackets in the last segment of the show. These jackets, with just round necks, sometimes open style (with no fastening), recall so many that Mr Saint Laurent created, especially for his couture in the '80s, and '90s, such as those expensive ones in silk organza, embroidered with sequins by Lesage and enhanced with pearls and painted ribbons to bear an incredible likeness to Van Gogh irises. Mr Saint Laurent made many of similarly shaped jackets in richly-patterned fabrics—even for his prêt-à-porter line—that were distinguished by their unmistakably straight shoulders. Mr Vaccarello brought them back, but he made them more maximalist than the originator did. The jackets were teamed with high-necked—or hugely bowed—lace blouses and tiered mini skirts. Despite the fresh take, we still thought of YSL model/muse Mounia (Orosemane) and Amalia (Vairelli). Good fashion does makes us look back. And fondly.
Screen shot (top): saintlaurent/YouTube. Photos: Saint Laurent
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