The Saint Laurent woman has always been a pipe dream for the majority: mile-long legs, a flat chest (but the desirable kind), and the ability to look good in quite literally anything. This season more than ever, the house’s creative director Anthony Vaccarello leant heavily into this typecast. The result, a collection dominated by looks of sheer fabric resembling stockings, so delicate, each appeared on the verge of laddering at any moment.
One need only have seen the first look of this collection to realise that practicality and wearability were not the m.o. for Vaccarello this season. The most transparent of transparent nude mini-dresses? Unwearable at the best of times. For the Autumn/Winter season? Completely unthinkable, unless perhaps you’re Bianca Censori.
The point of this collection was clearly to show off the skill of the Saint Laurent atelier, a point upon which the Belgian-Italian designer most certainly delivered. But at what cost? A collection of looks so ephemeral they likely won’t ever see a second wear. A concept which seems so grossly out of place in 2024, particularly for a luxury brand. Because I was under the impression that one-and-gone garments were something this industry was aiming to move past. Especially after taking a read of Saint Laurent’s Sustainability Measuring Impact page.
There were arguably ten wearable ensembles among the forty-eight Vaccarello presented, all very clearly Yves-inspired. The first of which were two immaculately tailored, yet still oversized, wide shoulder jackets that tapered towards the legs. An outerwear take on the suit jacket proposed last autumn. The second run of more functional looks, took note of Saint Laurent’s work in the early 60s, a selection of three black leather jackets with rounded shoulders as a nod to beatnik culture. Towards the close, another two pragmatic outfits, again a modern, oversized, take on a classic Saint Laurent tux, reminiscent of those worn by Bianca Jagger.
If you asked my first impression off the back of first viewing this collection I would, to put it simply, have told you it was “not for the real-life woman”. But given that we live in an era obsessed with buccal fat removals and Ozempic, this collection and the elusive Saint Laurent women it vested might just fit right into place.
