A magnificence foretold. After all, the imposing chandeliers—which seemed to hang in the sky, overlooking the Eiffel Tower—were enough to give us a glimpse of what would soon appear on the runway. Anthony Vaccarello, creative director of Saint Laurent—who has recently been the subject of more speculation than usual regarding a possible departure from the Parisian fashion house—has long accustomed us to a perfection in his shows that is nothing short of moving: a blend of magnetism, austerity, dark sensuality, and surgical precision—never devoid of emotion—that very few designers can boast. And tonight was no exception.
For Spring/Summer 2027, Vaccarello transformed—for a few, intensely vivid minutes—Paris into a veritable city of gold. An unconventional and certainly risky choice: entrusting the entire collection to a single shade, one that is so striking, no less. Yet Vaccarello’s gold is stripped of any didactic connotations and embodies a stylistic diversity that makes it desirable as well as dazzling.
It is a celebration of the Saint Laurent style of the 1980s, a decade Vaccarello has long been exploring and which finds its ultimate expression in this fashion show. It is the Saint Laurent of the Opium ad campaigns, with a lush, maximalist, baroque—yet always sophisticated—attitude, infused with exotic touches: those of the fiery skies over the lands beloved by Yves, such as Oran and Marrakech, which we find here in the exaggerated earrings, the bandanas with jeweled details, and the vividly colored, choreographed drapes of fabric worn as scarves.
It’s a golden look expressed through metallic and reflective fabrics, intricately detailed embroidery, animal-print textures, and laminated surfaces. It’s gold in oversized jackets, safari jackets, full suits, mini-dresses with furry details made even more precious by jeweled buttons, and incredibly sensual skirts with dizzying slits.
A gold that makes women powerful and proud, just as Yves himself loved to portray them. To close the show, several black looks represent the dark side that has always been part of the fashion house’s DNA: sumptuous velvet coats and one-shoulder chiffon dresses that seem to float in the Parisian air. Day and night, which sometimes blend together. Sometimes, they contrast. But they never lose their magic.
And if this really is Vaccarello’s farewell to Saint Laurent, there could perhaps be no more fitting finale. A collection bathed in gold, a final vision of power, sensuality, and darkness—one that, if this truly is a farewell, is destined to shine forever.
[📷 Getty Images]
