By
AFP
Published
October 9, 2026
Over the course of 10 years at the helm of Saint Laurent, Anthony Vaccarello has staged a succession of spectacular fashion shows, from Paris to the Moroccan desert. As the fashion house parts ways with its creative director, we look back at four shows that defined his era.
2016: a debut in black
On September 27, 2016, Anthony Vaccarello presented his first fashion show at the brand’s future headquarters, a private mansion in Paris’s ultra-chic 7th arrondissement. A huge neon YSL logo, hoisted by a crane, welcomed the audience – a nod to Yves, whose first name Hedi Slimane had removed from the brand’s name.
In the front row, Jane Birkin and her daughters Charlotte Gainsbourg and Lou Doillon flanked Pierre Bergé. Leather, vinyl, lamé, faded denim, 1980s-style strong shoulders, and reworked tuxedos: black dominated the collection.
What the audience remembered most were the sandals whose heels formed the YSL logo, a runaway hit on social media.
2022: free under the Marrakech sun
On July 15, 2022, Anthony Vaccarello unveiled his menswear collection in the Agafay desert, near Marrakech – the city where Yves Saint Laurent designed his collections and where his ashes were scattered. Far from Paris, he says he shed his last inhibitions there to “give himself courage,” as menswear design is his Achilles heel.
His masterstroke was to transpose the women’s wardrobe into menswear. The satin evening gown became fluid trousers, the tuxedo took on a new cut, and long coats and velvet wrap jackets were reimagined for men. The pieces flowed from one wardrobe to the other, yet each gender retained its own distinct silhouette, counter to an era that champions gender fluidity.
2024: the army of shadows
After several seasons of sheer fabrics and bare skin, he took the opposite approach and completely enveloped the female form in commanding, authoritative tailoring. In September 2024, the designer sent an “army of Yves” with an androgynous look down the catwalk.
A silhouette in which “sophistication must coexist with instinct,” as Anthony Vaccarello explained in his show notes. Tall, lanky figures, looking somewhat lost behind the iconic square glasses: the body was wrapped in impeccably chic fabric, as thick as armour.
2026: the golden age
On September 29, on the Trocadéro esplanade opposite the Eiffel Tower, the designer took the audacious gamble of going all in on gold – the colour Yves Saint Laurent deemed “magical.” Beneath immense golden chandeliers, safari jackets, midi skirts, trench coats, and oversized jewellery melted together in a molten flow of metal.
To close the show, a visibly moved Charlotte Gainsbourg sang to him, “You are so much Yves Saint Laurent, Anthony,” as the Eiffel Tower sparkled in the background.
Paris (France), October 9, 2026 (AFP)
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