For Winter 2024 menswear, Saint Laurent builds on elements introduced in prior seasons, while changing their tone and content.
The classic, double-breasted suit associated with 1980s power dressing informs the opening looks. As the show continues, the formal silhouette dissolves, the couture jackets are made of crepe georgette lined with satin, without any reinforcement, reminiscent of the house's latest women's collection. Similarly, a predominantly somber palette lightens toward the finale's dusty range of hues: pale nudes, greens and violets, among other tones. Indirectly, the shift mirrors the personal sartorial evolution of the house founder, from earnest to brazenly stylish with a rare sensibility for color.
Throughout, the tailoring is fluid, with an intentional slouch – an illusion of fabric turning liquid – running through the collection. In one instance, a black leather hat connects to a structured rubber peacoat in a reinterpretation of an 1960s archival reference, now paired to striking new effect over loose trousers.
The season marks a return to the Bourse de Commerce, its stark concrete rotunda carpeted in black and adorned with a monumental arch of dark blooms – including calla lilies, anemones and orchids – in a nod to the historic shows of Yves Saint Laurent.
