Is there any sense in searching for a smarter word than ‘hot’, when talking of Anthony Vaccarello‘s autumn-winter 2019 collection for Saint Laurent? Well. It was hot! But not dumb hot. Rather, confident hot. The best look? A broad-shouldered, wool coat with big shoulder pads, on a matchingly blond girl who looked very much like Yves Saint Laurent’s ultimate muse: Betty Catroux. Then, we’ve had clothes that looked like taken out of wardrobes of female spies that kick asses during Cold War thrillers. Dramatic mini-dresses inspired with Yves’ haute couture “Scandal” collection from 1971 and le smokings converted into gowns – gorgeous. The part that could have been omitted? The glowing-in-dark dresses at the end – they kind of undermined the cool, sharp assertiveness of this show. It felt as if Vaccarello and the brand wanted to generate even more Insta-content… but do we really need more? The tailoring was strong enough. And the Catroux coat, of course.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.