Just a few months on from his AW18 womenswear show (which featured a little under 100 looks, no big deal), Anthony Vaccarello is back at it again. This time around, though, the Saint Laurent designer swapped Paris for the city that never sleeps – New York, New York. The first of a month of menswear shows that will take us through to the end of June, here’s everything you need to know.
The Eiffel Tower might not have been visible from the showspace like it was last season, but the show’s New York setting more than made up for it. Taking place in Liberty Park in New Jersey, guests took the ‘Miss New York’ ferry over the Hudson, where Vaccarello had erected a huge scaffolded structure with a gleaming black marble runway. As night fell, the Manhattan skyline glittered in the backdrop. So far, so Saint Laurent.
VACCARELLO HAD YVES’ LEGENDARY OPIUM PARTY ON HIS MIND
Way back in 1978, Yves Saint Laurent launched his iconic Opium fragrance in New York with a huge party. Cher was there, Truman Capote was there, Diana Vreeland was there, but Andy Warhol couldn’t make it – and apparently kicked himself for not showing up, given the event went down as legendary even by New York’s standards. Fast forward to 2018 and Vaccarello’s debut NY show, and it’s clear the hedonistic days of the late 70s and perhaps even the party itself was on the designer’s mind. Take the collection itself as proof...
THE CLOTHES WERE A SLICK UPDATE ON 70S STYLE
Photography Nick DeLieto
All the usual Saint Laurent favourites were (of course) featured within the collection: the skinny-cut trousers, the slim-fitting, sharp-shouldered blazers, and the odd silk scarf knotted nonchalantly around the models’ necks. This season, though, they’d been given a 70s-style spin. Tuxedo jackets were presented in grey snakeskin, crushed velvet, and leather, with some belted at the waist, while metallic trousers and flared pants were paired with classic white shirts unbuttoned to the navel. Elsewhere, boys made their way down the runway in high-shine leather trousers sans tops, their torsos covered in silver paint and glitter. Think Studio 54, but make it 2018.
SAINT LAURENT’S NEW POSTER BOY WALKED
Following in the footsteps of the likes of Marilyn Manson and Ariel Pink, Lennon Gallagher – heir to the Oasis throne – was announced as the new face of the brand’s AW18 menswear campaign last week, and took a turn on the catwalk last night. Away from the runway, Saint Laurent devotee Kate Moss sat front row, alongside Charlotte Gainsbourg, Ezra Miller, Lauryn Hill and Selah Marley, and Travis Scott.
