Written By | Fashion and Design Desk
A glittering SS27 show at the Trocadéro marked ten years of Anthony Vaccarello at the helm, and whispers that it was his last
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PARIS
On Tuesday night, September 29, the Eiffel Tower glowed gold, and so did nearly everything beneath it. Saint Laurent's Spring/Summer 2027 show, staged outdoors at the Trocadéro fountain, arrived at 9 p.m. as the signature event of Paris Fashion Week. It also marked a decade since Anthony Vaccarello took over the Kering-owned house in 2016, and fashion insiders were quick to note reports that he may be stepping down from the role.
The show offered no confirmation either way. Vaccarello took his bow, smiling and waving to applause. But in a season of creative-director shuffles, the sense of a farewell was hard to ignore.
A Collection Drenched in Gold
The palette was burnished gold, from first look to a late pivot to black. Reports described gold dresses with raised embroidery, brocade skirts, sharp-collared jackets and trench coats. Fabric treatments ran through lamé, organza, lace, brocade, jacquard and latex finished with gold leaf, so the same color seemed to shift from soft and almost liquid to sculpted and hard.
Vaccarello also revisited the house archetypes: trenches, blouses and wrap skirts, plus his own signatures of strong shoulders, oversized blousons and precise short suits with fur. The finale turned to black velvet suits and cloud-like evening gowns with billowing sleeves and long trains. Charlotte Gainsbourg performed in a classic Saint Laurent black suit, with a recurring lyric about Yves Saint Laurent himself.
The gold also carried a message about the house itself. Founder Yves Saint Laurent transformed women's fashion by borrowing from menswear, introducing the tuxedo, the saharienne jacket and the tailored jumpsuit. Vaccarello's own aesthetic has been described as sultry and architectural, sitting between sharp glamour and radical sensuality. One fashion site summed up the night by saying Saint Laurent had proven it is the true gold standard, a line that reads as both a review and a possible goodbye.
The Front Row and the Backdrop
The runway was lit by gold chandeliers, and the guest list matched the glamour. Blackpink's Rosé, model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Oscar winners Eddie Redmayne and Rami Malek sat front row. The outdoor setting at the Trocadéro, with the Eiffel Tower lit behind the models, gave the night the feel of a staged celebration rather than a standard fashion show.
The Business Behind the Beauty
Under the sequins is a numbers story. Reuters reported that Saint Laurent's revenue fell 6% last year, though Kering said the brand returned to growth in the first half of 2026. Vaccarello is credited with expanding the brand's market presence during his decade in charge, so any exit would be a major moment for the house and its parent company, which has been busy managing creative change across its portfolio.
One detail from Paris Fashion Week itself puts this in context. Pavlovsky, the Chanel executive, said of the previous season's wave of appointments that "succession and creative renewal arise, and it just so happens that it's happening everywhere all at once." A Saint Laurent change would add another chapter to an industry story that is already crowded.
What happens next matters beyond Paris. Creative directors set the tone for a brand's handbags, fragrances and campaigns, and a change at one of Kering's flagship labels would be watched closely by investors as much as by critics. A brand in recovery, with revenue down last year and growth returning this year, is exactly the kind of house that needs continuity, or a bold new vision.
Elsewhere in Paris
Saint Laurent was not the only headline of the week. Drew Henry made his debut at Courrèges with a focus on "the joy of dressing," featuring neon belts, colorful bodysuits and vinyl outerwear. At Carven, Kai Nesselrath drew on founder Madame Carven's hands-on approach, with vintage details and sculpted proportions. Glenn Martens brought his deconstructive instincts to domestic life at Maison Margiela, with flattened silver pieces and retro florals inspired by 1970s dining rooms.
Anrealage marked its 25th anniversary with dresses covered in thousands of electronic-paper scales that change color, and Matières Fécales staged the first-ever show at Place de la République, casting 99 models of color in a collection titled "Ninety Nine Percent" as a tribute to immigrant communities. Celebrity guests across the week included Zoë Kravitz, Hailey Bieber, Heidi Klum, Paris Jackson and Jaden Smith. The week's mood, from neon vinyl to color-shifting E Ink, suggested that designers are betting on joy and technology as much as on heritage and restraint. Amid so many debuts, a house with a settled, ten-year vision looked unusually assured.
"Succession and creative renewal arise, and it just so happens that it's happening everywhere all at once."
— Bruno Pavlovsky, Chanel, on fashion's wave of creative-director changes
What This Means for You
For shoppers, the takeaway is that metallics are not going away. Gold, in particular, is likely to filter into stores over the coming season, especially in trenches, slip dresses and tailoring. You do not need the full runway look. A single gold piece, such as a brocade skirt or a metallic trench, will do the job against neutral basics. And if the creative-director carousel does reach Saint Laurent, expect the house's silhouettes to be reconsidered, which could make Vaccarello-era pieces more collectible.
The Bottom Line
Fashion loves a farewell, whether or not one is officially announced. If this was Vaccarello's last show for Saint Laurent, he chose a fitting setting: the Eiffel Tower, the Trocadéro, and a collection that showed the house at its most luxuriously confident. If it was not, the show was still a strong ten-year statement.
