Written By | Fashion and Design Desk
Under a giant chandelier with the Eiffel Tower lit gold behind him, the Belgian designer marked ten years at the house with an all-gold collection.
Search
FASHION
PARIS
Anthony Vaccarello has never been a designer who says much. On Tuesday night he said nothing at all, and the show still told the audience what they needed to know.
Instead of the usual backstage interview after his Spring/Summer 2027 show for Saint Laurent, he sent editors dark purple flowers and a handwritten note. It described the collection as "very personal" and "charged with emotion," an idea he had carried for a long time and finally felt ready to show. It was ten years since his first show for the house. Reports that he is about to leave had been growing all month, so few people in the audience at the Trocadéro fountain doubted that this was a goodbye.
Everything gold
The staging was grand even by Saint Laurent standards. Models walked a raised runway beneath an enormous gold chandelier, with the Eiffel Tower lit gold across the river. Almost everything they wore was gold too.
Reuters described "slinky dresses and textured tailoring" with raised embroidery, gold brocade skirts, sharp-collared jackets and gold trench coats. WWD called the collection "solid gold" and listed how many materials Vaccarello had gilded: trench coats, pencil skirts, safari jackets, luncheon suits and cocktail dresses in lamé, organza, guipure lace, chiffon, brocade, jacquard, metallic cotton and even latex. WWD found the mood "as wistful and melancholic as it was dramatic."
The ending made the point clearer still. After all the gold, the last looks were black gowns with billowing sleeves and long trains. Charlotte Gainsbourg, dressed in a classic Saint Laurent black suit, then sang, and Vaccarello came out to a standing ovation. He walked to the front row and handed his five-year-old son, Luca, what looked like a set of keys. His publicist later said it was a good-luck charm. Many guests read it as a handover all the same. His show notes ended with a reflection on light, and on what remains after something passes.
The collection was "very personal" and "charged with emotion." (From Anthony Vaccarello's handwritten note to guests)
A front row to match
The guest list suited the occasion. According to Reuters, Blackpink's Rosé, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and the Oscar winners Eddie Redmayne and Rami Malek sat front row. CNN reported that Zoë Kravitz, Hailey Bieber and Adèle Exarchopoulos sat together. On the runway, Bella Hadid returned to the catwalk for a house that has cast her many times, and the Somali-Canadian model and activist Yasmin Warsame wore a shimmering gold jacket and earrings.
It was also the end of one of the busiest days of Paris Fashion Week. Earlier on Tuesday, Jonathan Anderson showed at Dior in the Tuileries Garden, on a runway built over the garden's octagonal pond. His collection was light and romantic, with pleated sheer skirts, jackets covered in baby-pink fabric petals and silver and copper leather trousers. It was inspired by a pair of Chinese wenwan walnuts sent to guests with their invitations. Dior felt like a house looking ahead. Saint Laurent, a few hours later, felt like a house looking back.
Ten years at Saint Laurent
Vaccarello was appointed in April 2016 after Hedi Slimane left, and he had a hard act to follow. Over the next decade he built a recognisable look around sharp shoulders, narrow silhouettes, leather and dramatic eveningwear. His shows became more and more cinematic, often staged at night in front of Paris landmarks.
He took the brand beyond clothes as well. In 2023 the house launched Saint Laurent Productions, a film company that gave Vaccarello a second creative outlet and put the label into movie credits as well as on red carpets. Reuters credits him with expanding Saint Laurent's reach. Business has been harder lately: revenues fell 6% last year, though its owner Kering said in July that the brand had returned to growth in the first half.
What happens next
Officially, nothing has been announced. Saint Laurent and Kering have not confirmed that Vaccarello is leaving, and he has not said so himself. But fashion publications including Puck, DSCENE and Daily Front Row have reported his exit, and the show was presented very much as a farewell.
The succession rumours centre on Chemena Kamali, creative director of Chloé. She previously worked at Saint Laurent as design director before leaving in 2023 to lead Chloé. Nobody at Saint Laurent, Kering, Chloé or its owner Richemont has confirmed anything, and the move remains a rumour.
If he does leave, he joins an unusually busy period of designer changes. This season has already seen new creative directors show at several major houses. The Saint Laurent job, with its film company, its big-budget shows and its hold on eveningwear, is one of the biggest in fashion.
What this means for you
If you love Saint Laurent, this collection is likely to become a collector's season. Final collections from long-serving designers, especially ones this clearly personal, often become sought-after pieces later. Look out for the gold tailoring and the black finale gowns when the clothes reach stores next spring.
For everyone else, the trend is easy to spot. Gold is back, used on everyday pieces like trench coats, pencil skirts and safari jackets rather than saved for evening. A single metallic jacket over denim, or a gold skirt with a plain knit, is an easy way to wear it. Vaccarello also showed that gold works in matte and textured fabrics, not just shiny lamé.
The bottom line
Designers rarely get to choose how they leave. Many are gone before their final collection is shown. Vaccarello appears to have planned his ending himself, with the Eiffel Tower lit gold, Charlotte Gainsbourg singing and his son in the front row. Until Saint Laurent makes an announcement, the show was the closest thing to one.
