A successful fashion show today is one that can be remembered and described in short hand, requiring a memorable silhouette and setting.
You could argue that Anthony Vaccarello has helped set that template with his laser-focused Saint Laurent spectacles — always in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, and always with a direct, unmissable fashion message.
Spring 2024 can be summed up in two words: cotton and stone, the main materials for the clothes and for his gobsmacking marble set erected high over the lawns of the Champ de Mars.
This was a very newsy collection for Saint Laurent, lately synonymous with mostly black, very soigné evening clothes worn by VIP guests including Jerry Hall, Demi Moore, Hailey Bieber and Kate Moss.
The runway featured mainly daytime looks, most of them loose-fitting and in spice-rack colors. There were even cargo pants.
Vaccarello said he wanted to return to the foundations of Saint Laurent, and he settled on his 1960s inventions, headlined by the safari jacket, the jumpsuit and a plethora of pants.
“I really wanted simplicity this season,” the designer said backstage before the show. “I wanted something less precious in the materials, something less ostentatious.…There are zero suits. Actually, it’s kind of the opposite of last season.”
So goodbye grain of powder — and hello gabardine!
Vaccarello confessed that cotton sportswear is not exactly his comfort zone, but he challenged himself to exalt simple silhouettes in more everyday materials. The secret? “It’s all about the right proportions,” he argued.
The designer said he also drew inspiration from pioneering women, including race car drivers and aviators like Amelia Earhart and Adrienne Bolland. This explained the small leather helmets, the demonstrative gloves and all those zip-front boiler suits, worn belted and unfailingly with high-heel slingbacks the color of molten caramel.
What Vaccarello didn’t change was the icy demeanor and high polish associated with his Saint Laurent sirens, and screen legends like Catherine Deneuve, perhaps the most glamorous vampire ever in 1983’s “The Hunger.”
Slicked-back hair, smoky eyes, red lips and chunky bangles and earrings completed each look.
Saint Laurent has consistently been the strongest-performing brand at Kering the past few years, with organic sales gaining 7 percent in the second quarter of 2023.
The brand continues to roll out ever more impressive boutiques, with construction underway on a gargantuan Champs-Élysées flagship. Word has it that much of the stone used for the set will make its way to the shop floor — followed by cotton.
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