Saint Laurent SS27: Did Anthony Vaccarello just bid farewell to YSL? Womenswear

Anthony Vaccarello made his debut at Saint Laurent in September 2016, almost ten years ago to the day. Yesterday evening (September 29), the Belgian designer marked his 10th anniversary at the brand with one of his greatest collections to date. In fact, it was the type of show that only comes around once a decade and will be remembered in the fashion history books. The type of show that makes you wonder, is there something they’re not telling us? For several weeks, rumours of Vaccarello’s departure have circulated on the internet. And while we remain adamantly in denial, if we know anything about fashion farewells, it’s that they tend to go a little something like this…

The first indication of Vaccarello’s swan song came via the megawatt line-up of A-list supporters. Some of the biggest names in fashion, music and film all assembled on the front row – a Mount Rushmore of YSL ambassadors featuring Kate Moss, Zoë Kravitz, Rosé, Jerry Hall, Georgia May Jagger, Hailey Bieber, Carla Bruni and Bella Freud. There may not have been a Madonna appearance this season, but we did get Francis Ford Coppola, Rami Malek, Mark Ronson, Amber Valletta, Amelia Gray, Gabbriette, Zoë Saldaña, Farida Khelfa and Eva Herzigová, to name a few. The real evidence of a designer’s final show often comes in the form of support from their contemporaries. If other designers are spotted in attendance there’s usually a reason, and sadly, Donatella and Pierpaolo both sat front row. What’s more, if that wasn’t enough to confirm it, all the celebrities were dressed head-to-toe in black, as if already mourning Vaccarello’s departure. 

As usual, the Eiffel Tower provided a breathtaking backdrop. Its gold glow was echoed by three spectacular chandeliers that hung above the runway, recreating the grand ballroom of the InterContinental Paris Le Grand hotel where Monsieur Saint Laurent once hosted his couture salons. Each chandelier had three tiers, perfectly mimicking the shape of the Eiffel Tower, which became a fourth chandelier in itself. As it does every hour, during the finale, the monument began to sparkle – making the moment all the more emotional. 

“What passes sometimes leaves more light than what remains,” Vaccarello explained in the show notes. A golden age is usually something that exists in the past – it’s romanticised in a way that means nothing modern could ever compare. But while fashion is a deeply nostalgic industry, this collection forced us to focus on the present, showing us that Vaccarello’s golden age is here and now. 49 of the 59 total looks had been dipped in sumptuous, shimmering gold. He took YSL classics – fierce tailoring, trench coats, pencil skirts, padded shoulders and frilled blouses – and gave them the Midas Touch. However, the moral of the Midas Touch is knowing when you’ve got too much gold on your hands, and as a result, the final 10 looks of the collection arrived in all black. Like a shadow cast by the brightness of the collection, the closing looks were a reminder that you cannot have one without the other, while also paying homage to the designer’s Belgian roots. It’s true that the memory of something often shines brighter than what remains, and if this really is Vaccarello’s final show, he certainly made sure his legacy would sparkle. 

If the megawatt frow and golden garments weren’t enough to hint at Vaccarello’s exit, then the dramatic finale sealed the deal. As every model returned to the spectacular, chandelier-lined catwalk, Charlotte Gainsbourg left her seat and entered the middle of the runway, microphone in hand, and began serenading the audience. Was this a literal swan song for the designer’s (alleged) exit?

With Gainsbourg’s velvet voice floating beneath a seductive saxophone line, the song was clearly a touching tribute to her friend Vaccarello, with its instant classic lyric “You Are So Yves Saint Laurent” drifting across the 7th arrondissement. Soon, Vaccarello himself appeared on the runway, embracing Gainsbourg and then dipping into the audience to hand a set of keys to his five-year-old son Luca, a gesture that many will interpret as symbolically “returning the keys” to the house of Yves Saint Laurent.

With the audience on their feet, coming together in a deafening crescendo of applause, Vaccarello made his way back onto the runway, joining the waiting models who were wearing his SS27 collection. Embracing Gainsbourg once more, the pair walked between the two wings of gilded women lining the catwalk who then began to move with them, until the entire mass of gold swept off stage, and the designer and his muses had disappeared from sight. “A light shines all the more brightly because we know it cannot be held,” read Vaccarello’s coded message in this season’s post-show note.  Even if it’s over, this was truly a golden age for the books.