Saint Laurent Fall 2024 Men’s Ready-to-Wear: Goodbye WFH, Bonjour Suits and Ties
At some of Europe’s big luxury houses, menswear and womenswear closely mirror each other. Not necessarily at Saint Laurent, where Anthony Vaccarello bookended Paris Fashion Week with his fall women’s and men’s shows.
The former will be remembered for freeing the nipple with its radical dedication to sheer hosiery materials draped around the body; the latter for boldly bringing back the suit and tie.
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Strip out the backdrop on Tuesday night — the likes of Kid Cudi, Evan Mock, Dominic Fike and Coi Leray slumped on louche, modular sofas at François Pinault’s private art museum — and you might think you were back at SEHM, Europe’s largest international menswear show, circa 1988. The shoulders were big, the jackets roomy and double-breasted, the shirts and bulging ties often the same color.
But so many Saint Laurent-isms were embedded in the display: the grand floral arch under which models emerged, just like they did at the founder’s couture shows at the InterContinental Hotel in Paris; the dead ringer for Yves Saint Laurent who opened the show, thin and wan, his spectacles heavy on the brow, and the rich, powdery colors and matte fabrics that transmitted the soigné feeling of Saint Laurent.
The tulip-shaped Champagne flutes and the black carpet, as lush as Russian sable, also contributed to an atmosphere of decadent luxury.
Models strolled the perimeter of the rotunda at the Bourse de Commerce, their loose trousers lapping at their shiny, square-toed oxfords. The round room and the glossy, borderline kinky, rubber peacoats subtly echoed the women’s show one week prior.
“More formal, more classic, more masculine,” Vaccarello said backstage in his pitch-black interview suite.
He started with the shoulders like Saint Laurent did, but executed his suits in languid, feminine fabrics like georgette bonded to satin. “There’s zero structure in the jacket and the trousers, so it’s very fluid like a shirt,” he explained. “No tricks. Not trying too hard to make a statement.”
A legible, chic and easy-to-like collection at the tail end of a grueling fashion month? What a blessing. Thanks, Anthony!
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Launch Gallery: Saint Laurent Men's Fall 2024 Ready-to-Wear Collection
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