Saint Laurent fall 2022 women’s

Vaccarello has done what is rarely if ever seen on the runways these days and that is .... HE SHOWED THE WORLD THE DNA of the brand that employs him! This is one of the most well put together, cohesive, slick, chic, soigné, urbane, sleek and razor-sharp collections to have come down a runway in what seems to be eons. This was unquestionably an homage to the master that worked perfectly without looking retro or directly copied from the vast YSL archive. Vaccarello has truly come together with his brand here and shown the fashion world that it is indeed impossible to adhere to an eponymous designer’s vocabulary without looking like retreads or been there done that. This was a watershed collection of acumen!

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If timing is everything, then this was the time that a collection such as this stands on its own and stands out as a triumph amidst all the dross that we have seen in the past few weeks. This show was brilliant exercise in its cohesion as well as massaging the nuances of Yves that he used season after season on the runway. The sunglasses, the Nancy Cunard bracelets stacks and the all over slick sharp, luxe for this season was just stand out. Looking at past collections of Rive Gauche, there was always a common thread woven through each collection and that practice was demonstrated here in spades. These are clothes that are timeless, classic yet of the times and perfectly in harmony with the brand.

                                               

                                           

If there is anything, and you know I have to find something, that I would have wished for here it would have been some color since Yves was a master colorist, a hit of leopard for obvious reasons and maybe a tad of embroidery or prints. That being said none of MY issues takes away from the fact that Vaccarello mined the archive and came out with a stellar collection worthy of the brand and its founder and shows him off as being pitch perfect in tune with the heritage of the house.

Saint Laurent spring 2022

Here’s the hitch with this collection, unless one is really familiar with the brand... when Yves was alive, you miss the nods he gives to the designer BUT Mr. Vaccarello certainly went overboard in too many ways!

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The first thing I noticed is that the heels are literally skyscraper heels with platforms to the point that the models were most either hunched forward or tilted back or wobbling which serves no purpose and certainly doesn’t enhance the clothes. Then we move onto the flood of skin tight catsuit and pants which doesn’t mean they are sexy; it just means they are second skin. Next up there were those jumpsuits/catsuits where Vaccarello used a bodice... (to the uninformed that’s the top half of a gown) and plopped it on as the top half of a catsuit and no it doesn’t work like that, this is not paper dolls.

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There were wonderfully tailored jackets that may have had the original YSL flourishes that came in the way of buttons or sleeves or embellishments and then there were a few skirts that might have been exactly as St Laurent did them except Vaccarello didn’t carry through and used transparency on top of those ball skirts. when one has an archive such as this, it is imperative that it is used properly and sadly the end results here were not flattering.... droopy drapey tummies on skintight catsuits and wonderfully draped necklines that are not a match to catsuit bottoms. It’s the square peg in the round hole syndrome!

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Yes, the models were impeccably groomed and the accessories tasteful and possibly even in the original St Laurent vein but as a whole it didn’t make much of a statement except that yes, we believe in jackets and catsuits and shoes you can’t walk in and that is sad!

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YSL men’s spring 2022

One might subtitle this collection as Death In Venice!

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One thing we know for sure is that this collection was not designed as work wear since I’m not quite sure where or why you’d wear these clothes.

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Vaccarello said he referenced Yves’ 70’s and 80s collections which indeed he did but he weakly referenced the women’s collections and paraded out a cavalcade of pirate shirts, capes, platform boots, shoes that hurt just by looking at them and let’s not forget lace blouses all shown in models of questionable gender!

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These are clothes that cost 1000s of dollars and can only be worn by the very young or shall I say should only be worn by the very young and now you do the math!

Leg o mutton ruffled neck lace blouse on men is a mockery of the late designer.At a time when we are all trying reach the post pandemic stage of life, these clothes are almost an insult or possibly just erasing the past 18 months as if they never happened.

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YSL menswear never set the world on fire as I was a good customer in those early years at Rive Gauche before the Bidermann years. My point being, you never looked like you shopped in the back of your mother’s closet and the clothes were not age centric but they were luxe, chic, understated and fabulous. Fact is, I bought my very first pair of sweats at Rive Gauche and even they were fabulous and keep in mind this was about 35 years ago ... they were simple drawstring cotton fleece lined but they had thermal tuxedo stripes running down the legs.

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There is nothing discreet here nothing soigné or natty except for a few tailored jackets and might I add that even 35 or 40 years ago spencer jackets for men were not flying off the racks for any designer. If Vaccarello was really influenced by the collections of those years where are the lush color combinations, the bold statement making clothes and the aspiration that went with it all.

The only thing I see here is buy these clothes, wear them in daylight and pray no one throws stones at you!

Saint Laurent Fall 2021

“It’s the idea of a girl in a landscape where she doesn’t belong.” Vaccarello

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Well, I’d say he found the perfect place where she didn’t belong and that is on the runway. Just as I was starting to warm to his iteration of YSL, here comes this atrocity of a collection.

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Let’s see ... it’s a day when the entire design room at Chanel takes mind altering drugs to include cap toe shoes, Chanel jackets, Gripoix jewelry, chains and then adds the thigh high YSL boots of the safarienne era, the ubiquitous toque ... throws that together and add 14^th street shiny leotards, armpits and asshole fur or something that resembles it, possibly with the bullet holes still in it... and presto................ a fall collection suited for the under the highway crowd... you know the “nickel a BJ crowd, a dollar and it’s around the world!

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This is an affront to the brand, to the eponymous designer and to Kering for permitting such a parade of trashy looking cheap looking clothes that look like high school design interpretations of Chanel.

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As for the Vogue review which seems to be reviewing a movie rather than a collection of clothes, I say keep your eye on the freakin ball...it’s about clothes not cinema....

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Saint Laurent summer 2021

 WOW! I’m not one who is big on watching these film presentations but I am compelled to say  that this was a tour de  force  as well as an incredible  example of a designer growing into  his place as designer for a heritage brand. Vaccarello has demonstrated he knows much more of the brand’s DNA than a smoking!

I won’t go on and on and but I’m thrilled to see the respect, the grandeur, the presentation that can proudly stand up to the legacy of Yves St Laurent.

Just watch the  film….   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qCLjjGkBrw

Saint Laurent fall 2020

Well, apparently, someone actually went to the archive and almost used it to the point of being faithful but alas, designers being who and what they are when it comes to an archive, they always find a way to fuck it up.

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No question, the collection is about blazers, jackets, coats, chubbies, a few great skirts and even a few dresses and lest I forget the ever YSL standard stock tie neck blouse. With all this in its favor including a beautiful palette, Vaccarello had to flash it up by adding second skin scuba patent leggings and compounding that by using the same patent for dresses and skirts. In other words what might have been a landmark collection of chic turned into a sort of a mess or even a parody with that choice of fabric and its being used in almost every exit. As a whole, the collection comes off a bit repetitive especially since he omitted evening to a great degree and over focused on jackets.

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On the upside, I do have a feeling that in the showroom there will be skirts to match the jackets and possibly even some of the dresses in more wearable fabrics which won't require being powdered to get into them. As far as the lacy lingerie and bra top underpinnings… why oh why did he have to take them to the extreme and make them look like Fredericks of Hollywood?

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Was it the most exciting collection ... well no, but it probably will be one of the most salable and well received in my opinion. Vaccarello proves that he actually does understand the archive and might possibly be able to use it in more depth and variety for future collections.

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