Anthony Vaccarello

The passing of Pierre Bérge, Yves Saint Laurent’s partner in private and business life, wasn’t meant to be reflected as a mourning in Anthony Vaccarello‘s third collection for Saint Laurent. Rather, the spring-summer 2018 collection was a celebration of the ‘l’amour fou’, the crazy love that the two shared. And that was a show that matches one word: grandiose!

From what should I start? The venue was an open-air platform situated in the most precious viewpoint in the French capital – yes, the twinkling Eiffel Tower was the runway’s backdrop! THAT’S PARIS, and Vaccarello loves to highlight that Saint Laurent is the most Parisian label you can think of, in terms of style and its faces (for Yves that was Catherine Deneuve; for Anthony it’s Charlotte Gainsbourg). Second, the collection with an impression that was just as strong as of the venue. It was divided in three parts, the women’s ready-to-wear, menswear and ‘modern-day’ couture. The first part was very lace-y, very bohème and Courtney Love / Lenny Kravitz-cool. In other words, that’s what you see a Parisienne wear on the streets, no bra, just pure confidence. Menswear was simple and chic. However, the couture-ish part was my favourite. What a contemporary ode to Yves and his memorable appreciation for the ‘custom-made’. Puff skirts and very, very mini-dresses of huge volumes (one of them was so short that the model’s panties were visible – they were elegantly embellished with a rhinestone Eiffel Tower). Use of feathers, that referred to YSL’s autumn-winter 1987 and his costumes for Zizi Jeanmarie, was killer. Can’t get enough of all these boas, feather-y shoulders and thigh-high boots covered in plumage. That was so over-the-top. A fashion moment I anticipated so much, but thought will not happen in this decade. With his best collection up-to-date, Vaccarello really proves that Saint Laurent is the perfect place for him. Bravo.

Collages by Edward Kanarecki.

Anthony Vaccarello‘s debut collection for Saint Laurent, which we’ve all seen back in September, was a safe entrance to the house with sultry “party girl” look. However, his autumn-winter 2017 is so much more and it’s incredible in every aspect. First, the attachable sleeves-gloves hybrids, which were all about mega volume. Then, the highly covetable over-the-knee boots, whether in patent leather or heavily embellished. Cognac leather made everything, from the evening gowns to mini-dresses, look sexy, but far from vulgar. And when you’ve already thought that Vaccarello nailed it – the cable-knit sweater-dress (of course embellished with thousand rhinestones) was there, stealing the spotlight. In this collection, one can distinguish some of Anthony’s signatures, that we’ve already seen at his now-closed namesake brand. Faded denim, lots of leather, sharp silhouettes. But the designer managed to praise Yves Saint Laurent, without being too referential. The collection was inspired with YSL parties from the 80s – Vaccarello’s favourite period – and one specific look, which was slightly revamped. A black dress embroidered with a purple flower and green leaves was a 2.0 version of the same dress Yves did in the past, done in collaboration with Lessage. It was fantastic, just like the rest of the collection.