In an audacious move that redefines the essence of fashion, Anthony Vaccarello has unveiled the Saint Laurent Winter 2024 womenswear collection, propelling us into a realm where the visibility of clothing is paradoxically rendered invisible. This innovative concept not only challenges conventional perceptions of apparel but also reimagines the relationship between garment and wearer in a manner that is both intimate and revealing.
Vaccarello's latest collection for Saint Laurent is a masterful blend of transparency and concealment, where close-fitting silk dresses, reminiscent of sheer undergarments, play a game of reveal and shroud. These pieces act like hyper-graphic X-rays, simultaneously displaying and veiling the form beneath in a dance of visibility that is as provocative as it is elegant. This intentional blur between the garment and the skin suggests a fusion where the fabric itself seems to dissipate into the ether, leaving behind a silhouette that is both classic in length and revolutionary in content.
The collection evokes the memory of Marilyn Monroe's iconic 'naked' gown, bringing forth a sense of unsettling ambivalence that punctures the traditional propriety associated with feminine attire. Through this lens, Vaccarello questions the very nature of purity and provocation, suggesting that the two may not be mutually exclusive after all.
As the spectral becomes tangible, the Saint Laurent Winter 2024 collection captures the essence of fashion as a form of memory, made manifest in the confident stride of the Saint Laurent woman. She is a figure of complexity, embodying a mix of agency and desire, adventure and risk, resilience and fragility. This collection sees iconic Saint Laurent pieces reimagined in a powdery, make-up-like palette, where even the most tailored items—such as a crepe georgette suit or a coat of marabou feathers—assume a fluidity that seems to defy material constraints.
The theme of transparency extends beyond the garments to the accessories, with brazen glass jewelry that recalls more the idea of a mold than a definitive shape. This conceptual approach is complemented by the choice of venue for the collection's presentation: two circular rooms lined in emerald velvet damask, evoking the intimate ambiance of a boudoir and paying homage to the historical salons of avenue Marceau.
Anthony Vaccarello's Winter 2024 collection for Saint Laurent stands as a testament to the power of fashion to both reveal and conceal, to make invisible that which we thought we knew, and to invite us into an intimate conversation about the nature of beauty, purity, and the essence of what lies beneath.