Saint Laurent SS26

WOMEN'S READY-TO-WEAR | PARIS

Staged under the night sky at the Trocadéro Fountain, reminiscent of a ‘jardin d’hiver’, Anthony Vaccarello staged a vision that was both poignant and cinematic. White hydrangeas, groomed into the infamous Cassandre insignia, bloomed beneath the sparkling glow of the Eiffel Tower, a scene of pure Parisian romance. Saint Laurent’s manifesto was imbued like scripture - “AESTHETICS ARE A LANGUAGE” - carried within every look.

The opening designs were archetypal Saint Laurent: clad in black leather, pencil skirts, sharp heels, and baroque jewellery, all riffing on Rive Gauche DNA. Statuesque, seductive, staunch. Beneath contrasted crisp, white pussy bow blouses akin to the menswear FW23 collection, a destined hit in boutiques come the spring. Then came mousseline trenches in a classic Rive Gauche spectrum of rich, petrol colours, each indicative of the maison’s steeped history: vermillion recalling the first Rive Gauche boutique, mustard and cobalt nodding to Villa Oasis. Structured shoulders and cinched waists have become Vaccarello’s trademark, anchoring the collection to Yves Saint Laurent’s ‘80s vocabulary.

The finale was true theatre. Inspired by the Duchess of Guermantes and Sargent’s Madame X, grand nylon gowns billowed in the Parisian breeze. Models floated like Proustian heroines through a château garden, regal yet undeniably free.

Vaccarello’s hand is assured: he has reinvented the boldness of ‘80s Saint Laurent, balancing between contemporary revival and a deep appreciation for the maison’s namesake. References to Robert Mapplethorpe’s erotic, fetishistic edge met the glamour of the Parisian aristocracy. Yet one thing is clear. The Saint Laurent woman is the boss. She is enigmatic, untouchable, commanding, and seen. This collection embodies the show notes and more: “BEAUTY IS PLURAL.” In a time where conservative ideals gain ground and the ‘trad wife’ makes a return, Vaccarello reaffirms Mr Saint Laurent’s legacy as a designer of liberation and feminist armour.

My only criticism? Exaggerated shoulders balloon further and further with each collection, a trend that may be overstaying its welcome as a blunt shorthand for power. History proves Saint Laurent never needed such scale, and this motif can absolutely be executed in alternative ways. However, a criticism I will defend? Many have called Vaccarello’s collections ‘samey’ - and yes, they are, but think about it. Why compromise his defined vision and the autonomy of the maison for the sake of variation? Coherence is prized over novelty, and Vaccarello is intent on delivering garments that endure in memory and styling. He isn’t out to please everyone.

In a hotly anticipated Paris Fashion Week of debuts, Saint Laurent opened with a statement of authority. The multifaceted codes of Yves Saint Laurent are respectfully recontextualised here, as an aspirational ode to feminism:

“IN A TIME WHEN DIALOGUE IS FADING, STYLE BECOMES A FORM OF DISCOURSE - NOT ONE THAT IMPOSES, BUT ONE THAT CONNECTS AND ADDS NUANCE. WHERE WORDS DIVIDE, THE SAINT LAURENT AESTHETIC CREATES SPACE TO BREATHE AND INVENT NEW ANALOGIES.”

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