Anthony Vaccarello joined the House of Saint Laurent in 2016 after Hedi Slimane departed the Parisian house for Celine.
While Vaccarello’s early designs took inspiration from both Saint Laurent’s founding father and his predecessor, they were heavily scrutinized initially. Still, the brand found its footing under Vaccarello, and sales quickly began to increase as the designer made his mark on Saint Laurent, making the brand truly his own.
Anthony Vaccarello’s Saint Laurent Era
The designer has reinvented classics like the brand’s famous skirt suits, tuxedos, and safari jackets, all possessing an instantly identifiable air of sophistication with an edge—a certain sexiness. His runways have been defined by exaggerated silhouettes, strong shoulders, statement earrings, and effortless Parisian edge.
All That Glitters at the Eiffel Tower
Vaccarello’s Spring 2027 collection, which was presented Tuesday night under the sparkling lights of the Eiffel Tower, perfectly encapsulated who the Saint Laurent woman of today is. While we don’t typically cover Saint Laurent’s runway shows because Vaccarello has notoriously strayed from showing bags on the runway in order to keep the focus on the ready-to-wear and shoes, we would be remiss not to take a look at this collection, which is largely rumored to be Vaccarello’s last.
The show opened with a metallic gold crinkled windbreaker and a matching skirt, a long train following in its wake. The looks only got golder from there, with a staggering 49 all-gold looks giving way to a final ten all-black looks. This formula was a reversal of Yves Saint Laurent’s Rive Gauche 1991 collection.
Gold, Glamour, and a Hint of Goodbye
The collection, which was jaw-droppingly beautiful, was full of Vaccarello signatures. Sporty-chic silhouettes gave way to exaggerated silhouettes, trenches, skirt suits, stunning brocades, and more. Accessories were no less opulent, with statement earrings and Moroccan-inspired headscarves paying homage to Monsieur Saint Laurent himself.
The collection received glowing reviews throughout, bringing many in attendance to tears and only fueling the rumors that this show was his latest (nothing has been officially announced yet). Meanwhile, Chemena Kamali, who is Vaccarello’s rumored replacement, showed her Spring 2027 Chloé collection today, which was also said to feel eerily like a goodbye.
Where do you think Anthony Vaccarello will go? Or does the fashion rumor mill have it wrong this time?
All images courtesy of Saint Laurent
