On the first day of Paris Fashion Week Men’s, creative director Anthony Vaccarello closed the day with his first solo menswear runway show for Saint Laurent. It was dramatic and decadent in more ways than one.
Held at the rotunda of the Bourse de Commerce, surrounded by grand murals, musician Paul Prier kicked off the drama on the piano positioned right in front of the entrance; Charlotte Gainsburg took over for the finale. The soundtrack was stirring. And then out came the first look that pretty much set the tone for the rest of the autumn/winter 2023 menswear collection: a stark white tailored shirt elegantly topped off with the exaggeration of a bow tied around the neck.
There’s no sense really in calling the collection gender-blurring or unisex, simply because it isn’t exactly that. Maybe I’m a tad desensitised to gender tropes in fashion, but there’s nothing inherently feminine about the collection. Yes, Vaccarello took the opportunity to (finally) harmoniously bring together Saint Laurent’s men’s and women’s universes. Yet, the autumn/winter 2023 menswear collection felt complete at home—this is how the Saint Laurent man should be all along.
Vaccarello’s womenswear efforts—especially in the past couple of seasons—have focused more on a slinky, almost cat-like silhouette that’s underscored by long and lean constructions. The same idea was applied for the autumn/winter 2023 menswear collection. Coats almost grazed the floor (an autumn/winter 2023 trend for sure), all-black ensembles were in high favour, and shoulders were slightly extended with such straight-edged precision.
There was an overall highly sophisticated vibe—founder Yves Saint Laurent was no slouch—that even sweatpants (looks 3 and 17) didn’t completely feel out of place and could have been easily missed out as tailored trousers.
The collection’s brightest moments were undoubtedly the shirts, especially the beautifully draped satin ones that merged with cummerbunds (looks 24 and 42). But in all honesty, this was the best menswear outing by Vaccarello yet for Saint Laurent and proof that given time, a creative director can find their footing and let their vision converge organically.
View the full Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello autumn/winter 2023 menswear collection in the gallery below.
