Vaccarello does dark glamour for round two at Saint Laurent

Last night in Paris, Anthony Vaccarello staged his second outing as the creative director of Saint Laurent in a mammoth, 100+ look show. With its dark glamour and daring silhouettes, the AW17 collection built on the design language he introduced in his September debut – think extravagant party dresses with stand-out ruffles, sweetheart necklines, leather, and the occasional nip slip.

This time around, though, there was more variation – tan aviator leather came in the form of dresses with detachable shearling sleeves, and there was even a graphic text print. Grace Jones shoulders and plunging necks made for the kind of clothes a new rock ‘n’ roll icon would slip into before going on stage, while you could imagine models in some of the blindingly sparkly silver numbers going from show to after-party without so much as changing their shoes.

Another big difference from last season – this wasn’t only a womenswear show. Back in January, Vaccarello debuted his menswear collection in a series of imagery shot by Collier Schorr, along with a film featuring Lukas Ionesco. Last night, the boys joined the runway in PVC trousers, lurex knits and leather jackets, their slouchy trousers matching the girls’ boots. It wasn’t quite matchy-matchy or his and her’s – instead the entire group felt like a gang. The kind whose parties you definitely want to be invited to.