In lieu of choosing a specific embodiment of the Saint Laurent woman, for the house’s winter 2023 collection, Anthony Vaccarello distilled the essence of classic Saint Laurent style – a potent mix of precision, emotion and reticence – and combined it with his own codes for a severely reconfigured take, reflective of the current moment, on a familiar aesthetic : the tailleur-jupe.
The precision can be found in the sharp shoulder line of a bold new blazer. The emotion is present in the effective dissolution of gendered exclusivity, as classic items such as the blazer, but alsoa leather bomber and a sharply cut tank-top, are seamlessly incorporated into a woman’s wardrobe. Reticence is evident in the alternating interplay of transparent and opaque, emanating from recurring pieces in chiffon, crepe-de-chine and mousseline, as well as sheer stockings.
All of these elements create the key silhouette, consisting of a confident blazer paired with a slim pencil skirt, a timeless look that acquires a novel meaning rendered through the lens of refined details, a luxurious materiality, and a pared-down approach that strips away superfluous ornament to transpose a classic Saint Laurent uniform to the present. In a vein of modern ease, evening looks are anchored with slim cashmere pants.
The venue is inspired by the ballroom of the Intercontinental Hotel, where YSL showed all of its Haute Couture shows from 1975 through 2001. Vaccarello has incorporated the emblems of that affluent era—striking bronze chandeliers and a a uniquely shaped runway - and inserted them into a radically contemporary black-box setting.
