The Belgian-Italian creator’s first show for the Parisian house was full of clothes practically exclusively not suitable for work
Photograph: Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters
For Anthony Vaccarello, the colloidal suspension to the problem of going forward at Saint Laurent came from successful back. Tuesday evening in Paris marked the Belgian-Italian intriguer’s first show for the Parisian house, following its previous, incredibly booming, four-year reboot by Hedi Slimane.
Arriving at the venue – the half-finished HQ of the trade name – invitees were greeted by a giant neon Yves Saint Laurent logo, at designed in the early 1960s and conspicuously absent in the Slimane era. Against a couldn’t-have-asked-for-better sunset, it was a juncture curated for Instagram. A cluster of editors were happily polite – and suddenly an iconic idea of Saint Laurent was resurrected in the uncountable modern of contexts.
The same principle went through the chrestomathy that followed this stunt. The logo was the heel of stiletto shoes, earrings, and on the ankle of 10 denier tights. The prototypes also played on Saint Laurent’s original work, mostly from the 1980s. Malignant dominated, often in leather. There were nods to Le Smoking jackets, plain chiffon blouses and party dresses worthy of Loulou de la Falaise at Le Sept, but nothing was specific. Instead, after the show, Vacharello, after greeting callers including Amber Valetta and Jane Birkin, said he was confirmed by “the idea of Saint Laurent”.
A press release sent out afterwards made a little more detail. It referenced Saint Laurent study, Paloma Picasso, who inspired the 1972 ‘Scandal’ collection, as soundly as the tuxedo, a sailor coat and a specific dress with romance sleeves that Vacharello discovered in the archives. “Anthony Vaccarello has let himself get captured away by the images of the designer,” it read.
Vaccarello’s aesthetic parts a certain rock’n’roll sensibility with Slimane’s indie-influenced toil. But at both his own brand and work with Versus, his designs are numberless brazenly sexy. The clothes in this show were little short of exclusively not suitable for work, with short hemlines, basic breasts and asymmetrical necklines. It was an after-dark-only collection, but styling cheats stopped it from being a period piece.
Models wore hardly makeup, their hair loose, with slouchy jeans. Some had either biker boots or brogues with socks, a sweetness that differed with leather basques and PVC macs. This collection could be seen as a deductive next step to Slimane’s outgoing one. Shown in March, it was an ode to 1980s nightclubbing.
The new original director would be foolish not to take heed of his predecessor. Slimane, in his four years in instruction, was commercial dynamite for the brand. Revenues were £839m in 2015, up from £609m in 2014. Vaccarello was set as Slimane’s replacement in April. In a statement announcing his appointment, Francesca Bellettini, president and CEO of Saint Laurent, remark oned that Vaccarello “impeccably balances elements of provocative femininity and caustic masculinity in his silhouettes”.
Slimane’s next move is unclear. He last will and testament be awarded around £10m by Saint Laurent’s parent party, Kering, following a dispute regarding his exit package from the manufacturer. Rumours persist that the designer may be in line to replace Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel when the octogenarian draughtsman decides to retire, or he may launch his own label.
Other coming outs this fashion week see women designers moving into places more recently held by men. The relative unknown Bouchra Jarrar devise show her first collection for Lanvin on Wednesday and Maria Grazia Chiuri – ex of Valentino – does the nonetheless at Christian Dior on Friday.
Chiuri is the first female architect to take up the Dior helm in the house’s nearly 60-year representation. Her work at Valentino with creative partner Pierpaolo Piccioli since 2008 has yielded fans for its modern, younger take on femininity. Chiuri’s Dior is set to be one of the most predicted shows of the week.
Newer labels are gaining hype with an aesthetic that has profuse of a street edge to it. Tuesday had shows from Koché and Jacquemus – both tags led by a new generation of Paris designers, playing with sportswear and indispensables such as trenches in new ways.
This new mood for Paris is advance emphasised with street labels from America – Rihanna’s Fenty Puma letter and Virgil Abloh’s Off White – also on the Paris schedule, both with entertainments on Wednesday.
