How do you trace the thread that connects Anthony Vaccarello’s superlative performance for Saint Laurent last fall – all big shoulders and, well, even bigger shoulders – to the sublimely casual insouciance of his simple cotton shirts for next spring? That’s where this resort offering comes in, as much a celebration of the house codes – this time: fabulous short draped cocktailania in polka dots or colorful flowers, rendered with an easy, spirited attitude – as it is a work in progress from one collection to the next.
Those big coats are now slimmed down and fitted to the body, as close as a shirt, with a belt and buttons all the way up, a glittering logo buckle as the only decoration, and worn with sky-high, metal-trimmed slingback stilettos. Vaccarello may be one of the few designers making a case for the heel in an era where low/lower/lowest has become the norm – although he subscribes to the idea that the best way to make a cocktail dress look in 2024 see, make sure that the shoes with which it is worn are as flat as the hemline of the dress is short. Also of note: two new (and new) bag shapes – the just-introduced structured high-gloss Rendez-Vous shoulder bag, and from that fall 2023 collection, the soft and supple Bea – that are as practical and roomy as the clothes are streamlined and unadorned.
What all this adds up to is a reminder of how much Vaccarello’s Saint Laurent, whether a runway statement or a reimagined classic, is designed to have a wardrobe life that extends far beyond the season it spawns. He understands that when it comes to Saint Laurent, novelty should always be about novelty, with no expiration date. Something else that is clear: Vaccarello is also building on his own legacy in the house. Some of the resort’s highlights are based on his previous work for the house, as well as some of his own pre-YSL Anthony Vaccarello collections. The flowing, almost swimwear-like bodycon dressing, with a touch of minimalist 90s, in jersey, leather and smooth liquid satin, evokes the idea that radiant glamor should also be absolutely effortless.
