Ten years and two days after his 2016 debut, Anthony Vaccarello presented his Spring 2027 ready-to-wear collection for Saint Laurent in Paris. According to Vogue’s review of the show, many signs suggested it might be his last at the Kering-owned house, though nothing was confirmed in the source material.

Signals of a goodbye

Guests entered to Miles Davis’s soundtrack for Louis Malle’s first film, Elevator to the Gallows, and stills from the movie were used in Instagram promotion for the show. Vaccarello sent black calla lilies with a note saying he would not give interviews. He wrote that he had held the collection in mind for a long time, that it was very personal and charged with emotion, and that he preferred to let guests experience its shades. It was signed “With Love, Anthony.”

The show ended with a surprise performance by Charlotte Gainsbourg, a longtime Vaccarello supporter. The chorus of her song repeated the line “You are so much, Yves Saint Laurent.”

Gold, then black

The collection played out in many shades of gold and closed with a finale entirely in black. Vogue describes this as a reversal of Yves Saint Laurent’s fall 1991 Rive Gauche collection, whose finale was all in gold. The show notes referenced a quote from the founder about the color, calling it magical and “the color of the sun.” Saint Laurent was also quoted as saying that an evening should glow.

The setting supported that idea. The Eiffel Tower sparkled at the top of the hour as usual, and again when the show began and ended. Three large candlelit chandeliers threw shadows across a glossy black runway.

The clothes

The looks included sahariennes and trenches in crackly cotton métallisée and toile froissée, according to the detailed run of show. Mousseline scarves came in deep shades of absinthe, amber and cognac. Cocktail dresses appeared to be made of metal thread lace, and small cropped jackets and trousers were cut in gilt brocades. Big earrings and very high stilettos remained, among them a style with S-shaped snakes as heels. Vogue notes that it may have been the only show in Paris, perhaps for the whole season, without a single bag.

A designer against the grain

Vogue characterizes Vaccarello as strong-willed yet soft-spoken, and unwilling to follow trends. It points to his stance against the democratization of fashion, a major theme of the season. Last year he told Vogue that people had been made to believe fashion is for everyone, and that everyone can buy a piece or a bag from a big house. He said he hoped luxury would return to an old-school approach, adding that the current one weakens the idea of fashion for him.

Source: vogue.com