Saint Laurent is Paris Fashion Week. Saint Laurent is known for its quintessential French fashion glamour, and this season was no different – building a set of winding staircases, twinkling lights and a full-on fountain in front of the Eiffel Tower for its show. Supermodels and celebrities turned up in full force to see the event unfold – from Kate Moss to Zoe Kravitz, house ambassador, under one of the city’s most iconic landmarks.
None of it was in vain, either: the collection has widely been received with nearly perfect praise as a demonstration of ongoing elegance, craftsmanship and elevated designing. Draping was an anchor of the collection – forming hooded dresses, slinky gowns and tie-up details. Here, Saint Laurent revamped their capuches, one of the house’s most iconic garments – first shown in 1969, re-revealed in 1985 and then again in 2002 in the house’s final couture show before Yves Saint Laurent’s death.
The capuches were all the more striking because of their styling this season, though – seen as some of the only under layered pieces below the other main event of the season, the coats. Floor-length, sweeping and expertly constructed, we saw leather, wool and tweed versions grace the catwalk in Paris. Presenting an imposing, rounded exaggerated shoulder, these were centrepieces of already dynamic outfits, bringing the collection’s aesthetic into the realm of stylish workwear, in a distinctly Saint Laurent manner.
Also intriguing was the collection’s colour palette: pistachio greens lay alongside a multitude of earth tones, as well as rich purples and deep blues. The inspiration? Polaroids from archival YSL fittings – whose muted but impactful colour bleeding leant itself absolutely to these SS23 garments.
It was a spectacle of clothing and circumstance whilst staying entirely true to the brand’s heritage – something that is increasingly rare in today’s engagement-driven fashion landscape.
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See also: MOVEMENT, ORIGINALITY & LEATHER ILLUSIONS: DEEP DIVE INTO BOTTEGA VENETA’S SS23
