A jarring, provocative harmony in which the cold surfaces of the spaces of the Bourse de Commerce, Pinault Collection contrast with the setting from the large crystal chandeliers with warm light on a parquet floor with rich, aged charm. Opulent salons of the past, a clear evocation of the ballroom of the Hotel Intercontinental in which Yves Saint Laurent presented Haute Couture collections between 1975 and 2001.
The productive tension of very different temperaments has been part of the Maison’s heritage since its founding, and it is from here that the search for innate dualism that Vaccarello brings to the stage begins. The two personalities that come together here are clear and obvious, an aesthete hungry for new experiences combines with a steady literary mastermind. Parisian chic style is wrapped in a veil of seductive strangeness, of melancholy, almost somber elegance. The collection is juxtaposition, of characters, materials, elegances, lines and silhouettes.

The tailoring is essential, clean and linear, the forms are simple and intuitive. It is the elements around it that are contrary and disorienting, the fluid appearance, the sensual and provocative character, the threat, the ambiguity. The classic wardrobe introduced by Yves Saint Laurent is the origin of the collection and thought, the second clear reference is to Robert Mapplethorpe, known for his provocative and irreverent portraits with a dramatic tone.
Blazers, single- or double-breasted, echo the shapes of the 1980s, with broad shoulders and surplus fabric; shirts are striped with a retro look; trouser lines are soft; the lengths of trench coats and overcoats are enlarged; dresses are dusted off in tartan and small check patterns. Leather becomes the protagonist, in the short sporty-looking bomber jackets worn in contrast on tailored suits, as well as in maxi boots that stretch to above the thigh. The combinations remain true to the Maison’s ambiguity: coats are edged with feathers, assembled to look like dense fur with an instinctive and animalistic, human appearance.

“A rather classic man, so always in a suit and tie. It’s something that I still want to continue to pursue at Saint Laurent.”
Contrasts become incessant in a carnal desire that exacerbates the collection’s productive tension. An innate duality of shapes and features brings a breath of classic change to the men’s wardrobe. The dark and the light, the soft and the firm, the voluminous and the tapered, the contrast in itself defines the collection.
The story Anthony Vaccarello tells in each collection is a unique voice intended to break away from the redundant world of fashion. The ability to translate moments and experiences of the past into a precise and timely, careful and thoughtful topicality. The narrative is increasingly desirable, different generations being transposed into elements and characters that speak to the modern man.
Vaccarello, in his telling, is just like the rest of us, searching for something authentic, something heartfelt. The splendid sartorial form becomes a means and instrument for telling a sober sexuality that is entirely respectable and never vulgar.
