Image: Getty

FEW designers have had the grace of a tenure such as that of Anthony Vaccarello at Saint Laurent. This year, 2026, marks the tenth anniversary of the partnership, one which reached full-throttle in yesterday’s 38 degree heat in Paris. 

Anybody who knows me knows that I’ve been a devout Saint Laurent fan for some time. Insert customer one of two in Australia for the Fall-Winter 2025 thigh-high Joe boots. 

Vaccarello first caught my attention in 2012 with a white silk slashed dress, worn by enduring muse Anja Rubik on the red carpet in New York, and has remained at the centre of the fashion zeitgeist.  

For his latest trick, a return to the Bourse de Commerce, where Vaccarello had only last year shown his Spring Summer 2026 men’s collection, with the appropriately fog-filled exhibition Cloud #07156 by artist Fujiko Nakaya in full effect and open to the public through to September.  

Baddies Rami Malek, Kate Moss, Connor Storrie, Charlie XCX, and Madonna were among the roll-call of celebrity muscle to round-out the mis-en-scene. Conversations With Friends (2024) co-stars Joe Alwyn and Daisy Edgar-Jones new to the heavyweight line-up. 

The first look was razor sharp. A grey three-buttoned suit defining the by-now unmistakable silhouette of the Saint Laurent man — a heavily structured shoulder, relaxed fit torso, and tapered leg. A colour-coded slate grey silk T-shirt worn under signalled more casual dressing. Belted paper bag waists with pleat-front pants were the order of the day, while sheer and form-fitting ribbed V-neck knitwear in merlot red, soft orange, and a muted yellow round-out the masculine wardrobe. 

In the show notes, Vaccarello talks of restraint as a form of seduction. The absence of what’s not said as suggestive itself. My favourite of his references is the fictional Mr. Ripley, a seemingly composed characterisation with an infinite complexity beneath the surface. This reigns true of the Saint Laurent manifesto. 

Today, at the re-see, a standout was the extremely decorative, antique-like black onyx, crystal, and gold buttons of the suiting. The beige colour story felt modern and versatile, in particular the silk plunge neckline singlet, high-waisted leather brief, and tailored jacket. And a utilitarian anorak with ruched neck, waist, and hemline draw-cords in soft zinc-coloured yellow, watermelon, and green. 

Special mention has to go to Saint Laurent’s design director of footwear Corrado de Biase, who is quite literally carving out is own lane with his extended toe lace-ups in translucent PTU, a mirror of the hard to come by women’s Brigitte heel. 

As one of Kering’s top performing brands, CEO Luca de Mao recently announced at the company’s Capital Market’s Day that the house intends to more than double its men’s business by 2030. And, judging by the appetite for Saint Laurent here in Paris, it’s full steam ahead. 

Related:

Prada continues to argue that style, and taste, lie in the eye of the beholder

Front row at Ralph Lauren’s Spring Summer 2027 show with Esquire Editor in Chief, Grant Pearce