“The Saint Laurent women are dancing the night away,” proclaims the press release accompanying the House’s Inez and Vinoodh-directed, Alastair McKimm-styled summer 2018 campaign film. “I was inspired by girls who want to have fun, who know how to enjoy life,” Anthony Vaccarello explained back in September. After he reimagined the rich fashion history of Yves Saint Laurent for a new generation during an epic open-air Trocadero spring/summer 18 show, the Brussels-born, Paris-based creative director called on a few favourite faces — Anja Rubik, Raquel Zimmermann, Maria Miguel, Hiandra Martinez, Adut Akech and Cara Taylor — to continue the celebrations into the new year.
While Vaccarello’s Saint Laurent placed its lens over the history of the house, the recent passing of Pierre Bergé was undoubtedly on the atelier’s mind. Weeks after his death, the spring/summer 18 show celebrated their “L’amour fou” (crazy love). “I really wanted to pay homage to Pierre, to Yves and their relationship,” Vaccarello added backstage. After co-founding the fashion house with Saint Laurent in 1961, Bergé had been instrumental in turning his genius lover into a superstar designer. Their partnership caused the tectonic plates of the fashion world to shift. This show felt like a declaration that Paris had another house that was setting the agenda and with this collection, the new Saint Laurent might just cause another fashion-quake. During the show, the city appeared to slow and fall under Vacarello’s spell. Traffic on the Place de Varsovie ground to a halt, tourists were stopped in their tracks and the lights of the Eiffel Tower twinkled at his command. As fashion’s tectonic plates continue to shift, why not dance the night away?