If you grew up in the ’90s, you weren’t dreaming about Yves Saint Laurent. By that time, the legendary fashion genius of the mid-20th century—the designer often credited with creating the modern woman’s wardrobe—had already handed over his ready-to-wear line to his assistants. They faithfully stuck to the brand’s signature style of sophisticated Parisian elegance. For ’90s kids, there were far more exciting designers to admire: Helmut Lang’s minimalism, Marc Jacobs’ early grunge, Versace’s bold glamour, Jean Paul Gaultier’s playful irreverence, and Yohji Yamamoto’s deconstructed silhouettes.
Anthony Vaccarello wasn’t the type of aspiring designer who covered his bedroom walls with pages from Vogue Italia as a teen, though he might have sketched a high-heeled shoe or two in his math notebook. For him, music and the visual culture of MTV were his gateway into fashion—Björk in “Violently Happy,” and especially Madonna in Gaultier’s iconic pink Blond Ambition cone bra.
“To be honest, when I was a student, Yves Saint Laurent wasn’t someone I looked up to,” says Vaccarello, who will celebrate ten years leading Saint Laurent next year. “He felt a bit old for me by then, more associated with perfume and that very elegant, sophisticated woman he always dressed. But his clients remained incredibly loyal, and he never abandoned those timeless women. I really admire that, and now I’m more drawn to his ’90s era, when he focused on that perfect woman. I like the idea of taking that DNA and adapting it for today’s woman—for example, adding a floral touch to a casual yoga outfit, something you might see someone wearing at Erewhon.”
We’re not at Erewhon this morning, but we’re not far in terms of location or vibe. The late-spring marine layer casts a gray light over the palm trees in the garden of West Hollywood’s Chateau Marmont, where couples in athletic wear sip oat milk lattes. While this part of town, with its brightly colored Lamborghinis and lively partygoers, can be a bit much for Vaccarello, he does enjoy the Chateau’s distinctly Californian breakfast of fried eggs and sliced avocado.
Born and raised in Belgium to Sicilian parents, Vaccarello spends a month in Los Angeles twice a year, usually in March and November, to recharge after the twice-yearly women’s collection shows. This tradition started four years ago with the birth of his son, Luca. He and his husband, Arnaud Michaux—who also works with him as a creative partner at Saint Laurent—matched with a surrogate in Colorado due to the long waiting lists in California during the pandemic. (Surrogacy is illegal in France.) After Luca was born, the new family spent his first month in LA before returning to Paris. The experience was so positive for everyone, including the birth mother, that they repeated it last year when their daughter, Lola, was born.
While building his family, Vaccarello has also been expanding the cultural influence of the fashion house he leads. In 2023, he launched Saint Laurent Productions to support independent filmmakers, starting with short films by Pedro Almodóvar and, posthumously, Jean-Luc Godard. In 2024, three Saint Laurent Productions feature films premiered at the Cannes Film Festival: Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Perez, David Cronenberg’s The Shrouds, and Paolo Sorrentino’s Parthenope. Later in the summer, Jim Jarmusch’s Father Mother Sister Brother debuted in Venice, and Claire Denis’s The Fence had its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Vaccarello designed the costumes for these films, and in that sense, Saint Laurent Productions continues Yves Saint Laurent’s legacy of working in theater and film—most famously designing for Catherine Deneuve in Luis Buñuel’s 1967 Belle de Jour. But the main goal is to connect the artHe brings the artists he admires into the house he leads, making Saint Laurent more than just a fashion brand.
“It’s all about the director,” Vaccarello says of the films he supports. “These are the directors who shaped me as a kid and defined my vision. It’s not about giving back exactly, but helping them continue their work. I don’t do blockbusters—I’m not drawn to Marvel. This is about supporting independent film while expanding the brand into something more popular, visible, and lasting. Shows and campaigns are great, but they’re temporary. Maybe I shouldn’t say that, but in 20 or 30 years, a film will still exist, and Saint Laurent’s name will be on it.”
Jarmusch, whose film won the Golden Lion at Venice, was first approached by Saint Laurent in 2021 to create a short film titled French Water, featuring a star-studded cast including Julianne Moore, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Indya Moore, and Chloë Sevigny. Vaccarello later cast Jarmusch in an ad campaign. When Jarmusch started envisioning Father Mother Sister Brother, he immediately contacted Vaccarello. “Aesthetically, it was fantastic because they trusted me completely,” Jarmusch recalls. “I hadn’t made a film in five years—I was frustrated with financing. I always insist on full artistic control, or I won’t do it, but there were constant budget pressures. Working with Saint Laurent was different; they just wanted to help. They’re not film people meddling in production. It felt like having a Renaissance patron.”
Blonde Ambition
Gwyneth Paltrow wears Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello as Vaccarello watches.
When Vaccarello took over at Saint Laurent after Hedi Slimane’s departure in 2016, the house had just closed its LA design studio, which Slimane had opened years earlier, captivated by the city’s music scene and stylish youth. Vaccarello is clear: he doesn’t come to LA to work—he finds little inspiration there. “I’ve always loved LA—the weather, the beautiful architecture that reminds me of the ’50s, though that’s fading as the city has changed a lot in 20 years. We have a quality of life here that Paris doesn’t offer, and it’s so different that I need it. But I couldn’t create outside Paris.”
At 43, Vaccarello proudly considers himself an old-school designer. For him, this means not chasing TikTok personalities, following trends, or relying on viral moments or “It” bags. He sees this as the modern fashion game and doesn’t hide his disdain for it. Shy and soft-spoken, Vaccarello has led one of the great fashion houses without becoming a household name like John Galliano or Marc Jacobs. Dressed in jeans, T-shirts, and worn sneakers, it’s hard to picture him in the men’s clothing he designs. (“I’m a father now,” he explains. “Why wear an orange shirt with shorts? Why? For whom?”)
From the start, Vaccarello invited people who intrigued him—like filmmaker Gaspar Noé and actors Béatrice Dalle and Charlotte Gainsbourg—to form an expanded version of the original Saint Laurent circle, which included Catherine Deneuve, socialite Betty Catroux, and jewelry designer Loulou de la Falaise. He has also collaborated with and befriended American actors who excite him, such as Zoë Kravitz, Chloë Sevigny, and Gwyneth Paltrow, along with young models like Hailey Bieber and veterans like Frankie Rayder.
“Not influencers—real celebrities.””I admire women with substance,” he says. “Women who have something meaningful to say; women with depth.” He adjusts the tape holding a cotton ball in the crook of his elbow—he’d received a vitamin infusion earlier at his rental in Laurel Canyon, a classic example of Hollywood self-care. “I don’t want to be trendy. I don’t want to be constantly active on social media or attending pop-up events. I don’t think the YSL customer is drawn to that. I’ve always viewed our customer as more refined, not naive. And I find these trends quite foolish. A line outside a luxury store is the opposite of luxury. The idea of queuing for something—it’s not elegant.”
Like Yves Saint Laurent, Vaccarello focuses on women who come to his brand not to acquire good taste but because they already possess it. “They understand their bodies, they know which pieces to choose to avoid looking absurd and not just follow trends,” he explains. “I’m more inspired by those women. I’m not fixated on youth. If the product is right, younger customers will come too. But I’m not designing specifically to appeal to them.”
Although he hasn’t reopened the couture atelier at Saint Laurent—at least not yet—Vaccarello expresses concern about the push for democratization, given what he sees as fashion’s inherent elitism. “I believe, and I hope, that fashion is becoming more exclusive, more private. We’ve led people to think that fashion is for everyone and that anyone can buy an item or a bag from a major fashion house. I hope we return to a more traditional approach to luxury, as this current trend diminishes the essence of fashion for me.”
Yves Saint Laurent once stated that his goal was to provide women with “the foundations of a classic wardrobe…escaping fleeting trends.” For him, this meant androgynous staples like tuxedos, peacoats, safari jackets, trousers, pantsuits, blazers, and trench coats—the signature styles that defined his legacy. Vaccarello, delving into the archives, has crafted a similar philosophy with his sleek, minimalist, and subtly alluring designs, creating a uniform for the sophisticated women of today. “Saint Laurent explored so many ideas,” he notes, “that it’s easy to take something intriguing from the past and make it current. For Saint Laurent, it was never about being flashy—it was always about real clothes with a clever twist, defined by the wearer and their attitude.”
Sevigny, who has collaborated with Vaccarello on several campaigns, appreciates how his designs pay respectful homage to Yves Saint Laurent. In early September, she wore a black lace bodysuit under a short black satin bubble skirt to the Venice Film Festival; the outfit, from Vaccarello’s spring-summer 2018 collection, was inspired by a look model Yasmeen Ghauri wore in Saint Laurent’s fall-winter 1990 show. “There’s a genuine sensuality to Anthony’s clothes that many of these new minimalist designers, whom I won’t name, aren’t capturing,” Sevigny remarks. “They don’t celebrate women’s bodies. If you look at his latest collection, there are shapes that others aren’t exploring, along with those color combinations and large beads—there’s always a nod to something Yves did, and there’s always a hint of darkness or gothic influence that keeps it feeling modern.”
On a late June afternoon, Vaccarello unveils Saint Laurent’s summer 2026 men’s collection in the rotunda of Paris’s Bourse de Commerce, a former grain and commodity exchange that now hosts the art collection of François Pinault, owner of Kering, Saint Laurent’s parent company. (On the same day, at the Centre Pompidou a few blocks away, Beyoncé attended the Louis Vuitton Men’s show, instantly becoming the event’s biggest headline. Vaccarello typically steers clear of such spectacles.) At the Bourse, French acoustic installation artist Céleste Boursier-Mougenot has created a reflecting pool with floating porcelain bowls.Ice clinks at random, and around the pool, accompanied by a soundtrack of plaintive piano and strings, Vaccarello’s models stroll slowly in circles, hands in their pockets, wearing large shimmering suits with sharp shoulders and cinched waists. The color scheme of plum, burnt orange, and chartreuse appears as a slightly toned-down version of the color blocking from his fall-winter women’s collection presented in March. Rather than drastic shifts, Vaccarello’s ideas evolve gradually from one show to the next, across both genders.
“I realized that the men I was showing seemed a bit weak compared to the women,” he reflects afterward. “The woman was strong, and the man was almost like her son. Now the man is a lover or a friend. He’s no longer a teenager. They can have a conversation at dinner.”
Tucked into the show notes is an old photo of Yves Saint Laurent in Oran, Algeria, from around 1950. In it, he wears pleated, cuffed shorts that reveal much of his slender thighs. Vaccarello explains that this image was his starting point. He imagined a little fantasy: What would it look like if Yves Saint Laurent spent a summer on Fire Island in the 1970s—never mind that Saint Laurent never visited Fire Island, and neither has Vaccarello? Last season’s collection envisioned another encounter, this time between Saint Laurent and Robert Mapplethorpe, one artist who suppressed his desires and another who celebrated his. The black leather over-the-knee boots for men from that collection can be seen on several guests today, reportedly selling out despite a $4,500 price tag.
“Sex and distance” is how Vaccarello sums up two key themes of Yves Saint Laurent’s work. “Sex and modesty: a shirt with a bow at the neck, but you pull the bow and suddenly she’s naked in front of a mirror being photographed by Helmut Newton.” Vaccarello appreciates the tension between surface appearances and what he calls the unspoken. That tension is the explicit subject of Belle de Jour, whose heroine, the bourgeois housewife Séverine Serizy, escapes a sexless marriage by spending her afternoons satisfying clients in a brothel. Saint Laurent, equally drawn to beauty and seediness, reflected this duality in Deneuve’s wardrobe, from a demure black dress with white collar and cuffs to a black vinyl trench coat. “That’s the duality I love at Saint Laurent,” Vaccarello says, “the idea of being very sexual but always a cold sexuality: You think you can have her, but you cannot have her.”
Vaccarello often speaks about the thrill of danger: the danger of Paris at night; the danger of Los Angeles and its history of famous crimes; the dangerous neo-noir filmmaking of Abel Ferrara; a certain danger in Angelina Jolie’s witchy style; the danger of drug-fueled 1970s nightlife. It’s a sensibility he shares with the house’s founder. “When Yves Saint Laurent did his Scandale collection in ’71″—its green fox-fur coat is an icon of the house—”and everyone was shocked, it was all about the prostitutes of the 1940s,” he says. “They had a kind of free way of dressing that’s very attractive to us. Jessica Rabbit is what we saw in the ’90s, Madonna making a cross between big boobs. That kind of bad taste is important in fashion too, to go through that to create something.” (Saint Laurent said that his friend Paloma Picasso, who scoured flea markets for wartime fashion, inspired the Scandale collection.)
How can one avoid talking about sex when discussing Vaccarello’s clothes, with their celebration of skin and frequent use of leather and lace? The dress that put him on the fashion map was a white silk evening gown with a diagonal cutout across the torso and a slit up to the hip bone, from his own label, which his dear friend, model Anja Rubik, wore to the Met Gala in 2012.
Rubik recalls talking with Vaccarello about Basic Instinct, anotherA ’90s touchstone was on his mind while he worked on the dress. “Many people look at his clothing and say, ‘Oh, it’s sexy,’ but that’s not his intention,” Rubik explains. “The clothes aren’t provocative in a loud, flashy way. They’re provocative because they’re restrained. There’s a strong emphasis on proportions, but if you’re not familiar with design, you might miss the beauty in those proportions and details. The clothing never overshadows the wearer. When a woman enters a room—bold, confident, and unapologetic—that’s what makes her sexy.”
Vaccarello himself was the calmest in a group of wild teenagers. “I had a lot of fun,” he remembers. “I did plenty of silly things, but more as an observer than a participant: experimenting with drugs, going out, all in that cool ’90s style, not as intense as it is today. Being a teenager now seems frightening, doesn’t it?”
His parents moved from Agrigento in southern Sicily to Belgium, where his father worked as a waiter and his mother held office jobs. Vaccarello looks back on his early life with warmth: a caring family and the freedom to pursue his interests. He enjoyed being an only child and feels it helped him cultivate strong friendships. Each year, he traveled to Sicily with his parents and grandparents, and the Italian music from that time still evokes a bittersweet nostalgia. Now, he recreates those memories by spending summers in a large house near Noto, known for its Baroque architecture and almond granitas, inviting a circle of old friends for what he describes as a lively gathering.
Sexuality was never discussed during Vaccarello’s upbringing—not by his family or even his friends. “It was an unspoken topic,” he says. “You knew, but it didn’t matter; you lived your life with friends without declaring, ‘I’m gay.’ It was the same with my parents—they never questioned me. I suppose they understood but never labeled it. In a way, it was nice not having to explain. My parents were Catholic, and I was baptized.” Vaccarello found in Madonna a way to embrace both his faith and his identity. “She always had an ironic take, and I related to that approach of critiquing religion while still holding onto belief.”
He always had a passion for fashion but never considered it a viable career. “Brussels is a practical city,” he notes. “You’re expected to be a lawyer or a doctor. It’s not a glamorous place. I think that’s why so many Belgian designers emerge from there—out of sheer boredom. But I never aspired to Antwerp. The two cities are only 30 minutes apart by train, like Brentwood and West Hollywood. It’s absurd, but they’re worlds apart.”
Director’s Cut
Vaccarello’s venture into film production is both a personal journey and an expansion of the brand. “It’s rewarding to create shows and campaigns, but they’re fleeting. In 20 or 30 years, a film will endure, and Saint Laurent’s name will still be attached to it.”
At 18, unsure of his path, Vaccarello enrolled in law school, inspired by the ’90s legal comedy Ally McBeal. “I thought it would be cool to sing in the restroom,” he recalls, referring to the show’s iconic scenes of lawyers dancing and lip-syncing to Barry White in a unisex bathroom. “I imagined the job as a fantasy, but it was nothing like that. I hated it.” After two years, he left and entered La Cambre, the Brussels art school whose alumni now lead French fashion, including Julien Dossena at Rabanne, Nicolas Di Felice at Courrèges, and Matthieu Blazy at Chanel. Meanwhile, Antwerp was home to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, which in the 1980s produced the renowned Antwerp Six, such as Dries Van Noten.The brand had a history of intellectual minimalism (think Helmut Lang and Ann Demeulemeester), which, in Vaccarello’s view at least, it still maintained—though that wasn’t really his style. “I found the courage to go to fashion school after seeing Olivier Theyskens dress Madonna in the ‘Frozen’ video in 1998, when she had a very gothic look. I’m a Madonna fan, as you can probably tell! I thought, if he could dress her—coming from Brussels and studying at La Cambre—then there was hope for me. It all began with that: Madonna, Olivier Theyskens, La Cambre.”
After fashion school, he moved to Rome to join Fendi’s design team, where his role involved transforming Karl Lagerfeld’s sketches into fur coats. At the same time, he started his own label, which quickly gained early support from Paris retailer Maria Luisa Poumaillou and built a following among models such as Rubik. In 2013, Donatella Versace hired Vaccarello to lead Versus, her diffusion line, taking over from Jonathan Anderson, who left to become creative director of Loewe. Back then, Saint Laurent seemed like a distant dream, though Vaccarello has said it was the only house for which he would have given up his own label—which is exactly what he did when Saint Laurent chose him to succeed Slimane.
“I never considered anyone else,” says Francesca Bellettini, then president of Saint Laurent and now deputy CEO of brand development at Kering. “His work always struck me as incredibly relevant, sharp, and timeless. But beyond the clothes, I wanted someone who could authentically express the brand’s values—not just repeat history, but reinterpret it in his own way. Anthony respects the essence of Saint Laurent: freedom, sophistication, desire. I was hoping for evolution, not revolution, and the clarity and consistency that allow a brand to build for the long term.”
Vaccarello and I are having dinner at Sushi Park, a hidden gem on the Sunset Strip located on the second floor of a modest strip mall. Overlooked by food critics, the restaurant’s outstanding sushi has long been a favorite among wealthy, hoodie-wearing sushi enthusiasts and movie stars on dates. It’s Vaccarello’s top pick in LA. “Maybe it’s my fault,” he says, referring to the occasional paparazzi lurking outside. “I brought Hailey Bieber here, and then she brought Kim and Kendall. After that, the paparazzi showed up.”
While Saint Laurent Productions is his most ambitious venture outside the design studio, it’s not his only one. Vaccarello opened Babylone, a bookstore on the rue de Grenelle in the former Saint Laurent accessories store, and launched a small publishing imprint called SL Editions, focusing on artists and photographers who capture his interest. Earlier this year, he opened a branch of Sushi Park in the basement of the renovated Saint Laurent Rive Droite flagship on the rue St.-Honoré. The Paris location is much sleeker, with dim lighting and dark decor, but the menu is nearly identical. As a Saint Laurent restaurant, its opening was announced with a short film by Pierre-Ange Carlotti, featuring Lourdes Leon and Palestinian singer-songwriter Saint Levant. (For those wanting a keepsake, the restaurant’s Saint Laurent-branded ebony chopsticks are available online for 495 euros.)
“When he loves something, he just wants to share it, invest in it, and protect it,” says Kravitz, who first met Vaccarello when he asked her to star in a Saint Laurent ad campaign in 2017. “He wants to infuse the things he loves into the brand. Saint Laurent is a community; we all know each other, support each other, and watch each other grow. If every year it’s new people—whoever’s hot on Instagram—it becomes so soulless.”
Denis, who describes herself as shy, had attended Saint Laurent fashion shows but always slipped away as soon as they ended. It wasn’t until Vaccarello invited her to a birthday party he was hosting for Dalle at a hotel in Venice that they began to form a friendship.”I was thrilled and surprised when he expressed interest in joining my film—not just as a coproducer, but as the costume designer,” she explains. “Costumes are the perfect starting point for building a character with an actor. When you begin with the clothing and shoes, the character gradually takes shape.”
Of course, not every project turns out perfectly. Despite being a sensation, “Emilia Perez” lost momentum at the Oscars after Karla Sofía Gascón, who played the lead role, posted offensive tweets that spread rapidly on social media. Vaccarello dismisses the notion that this incident highlights the risks Saint Laurent faces when stepping outside its usual domain. “Film production involves risk and danger—that’s what excites me,” he says. “What bothers me about fashion today is how fearful everyone is. They carefully choose which artists, singers, or actresses to associate with based on the value they bring. Obviously, I don’t want to be linked to a racist. But in filmmaking, you can’t control every individual.”
Saint Laurent Productions now regularly receives scripts for potential investment, but aside from Vaccarello directing a music video for Gainsbourg—his directorial debut—no new projects have captured his interest. “The bar is quite high,” he notes. “I haven’t found any new passions.” The Saint Laurent brand is expanding exactly as Vaccarello intends, even as the luxury sector faces a clear downturn. After years of remarkable growth, Saint Laurent’s sales fell by 10% in the first half of 2025—a decline that might have drawn more attention if not for Gucci’s 25% drop, given that Gucci is Kering’s flagship brand. The reasons are likely varied: geopolitical instability, inflation, tariffs, and China’s sluggish economy. In September, Kering appointed a new CEO, Luca de Meo, formerly of Renault, who played a key role in revitalizing the French automaker. His lack of a fashion background may be intentional.
“I don’t feel any pressure; it’s not on my shoulders,” Vaccarello remarks about the business side. “It’s becoming absurd to replace designers over one bad season or because of CEOs’ poor decisions. When things go wrong, they always point fingers at the creative director. We’re creating art and building something. We were on a high, and it’s normal to have a downturn.” This sense of a standoff between consumers and luxury brands has contributed to a flurry of changes in design studios over the past year: Demna moved to Gucci, Pierpaolo Piccioli to Balenciaga, Matthieu Blazy to Chanel, Louise Trotter to Bottega Veneta, Jonathan Anderson to Dior, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez to Loewe, Dario Vitale to Versace, Simone Bellotti to Jil Sander, Michael Rider to Celine, Glenn Martens to Maison Margiela, and Haider Ackermann to Tom Ford. Vaccarello, however, is staying put.
“I’ve had offers from other fashion houses, but I turned them down because, to me, Saint Laurent is the ultimate house,” he states. “Everything you see today is connected to what Yves Saint Laurent created: there’s danger, the bourgeoisie, the art of revealing and concealing, and the blend of masculinity and femininity. For me, it’s Chanel and Saint Laurent—they’re cultural icons, part of French heritage. Why would I go elsewhere? For more money or fame? I don’t care about fame. I’m delighted to be in a house where I have complete artistic control, and I’d never risk losing that somewhere else.”
Last year, Vaccarello and Michaux bought a house on a Brentwood hillside—a floating glass box designed by mid-century master Craig Ellwood, offering views from downtown’s glittering lights to the Pacific Ocean. They are undertaking a major renovation with Marmol Radziner, a firm renowned for restoring modernist masterpieces.A new collection is underway. Though his mind is rarely at rest, life in Los Angeles mainly involves “doing nothing,” he says: spending time at home, reading, watching movies, hiking, and going to the beach—though he avoids swimming, as Vaccarello doesn’t like getting in the water. For now, he’s comfortable taking Luca out of school during their stays in LA, though he knows this can’t go on forever. “This is the last year I can be a bit punk. What do you learn at school at age four that’s so important? He’s learning more by traveling, speaking English in the US, and playing with kids in the street. At school, he’d be learning to cut a banana with a knife.”
As you read this, Vaccarello and his family are likely settling back into the rhythms of their Los Angeles life. Paris Fashion Week will have just wrapped up. Back in July, when we spoke, he was considering creating edgier pieces in his go-to colors—black and navy. Lately, his womenswear has been soft and flirty, but now danger is on his mind again: he envisions a show at the Trocadéro where women are cruising each other, much like men used to do in the Tuileries at night.
“It’s a tougher collection,” he says. “I try to never do politics. But I’m not closed off to what’s happening in the world. There must be a connection to that. I have a girl now, she’s one, and I want her to be stronger.”
Will people like it? Vaccarello is a designer whose confidence in his vision is matched by his patience with his customers. He’s in no hurry for her; she’ll come around when she’s ready. “The magic of the business is creating desire,” he explains. “But if you follow the trend, you kill fashion. Every time a brand is good at something, all the brands do it: the same bag, the same coat. My thing is, you succeed when the consumer doesn’t know what they’ll need tomorrow. Because really, you don’t need anything. You just need to eat, pay your rent, and be good to your kids. But you think you need—and that’s the most magical part of the job.”
In this story: hair by Lorenzo Martin; makeup by Georgie Eisdell; grooming by Jenna Nelson; manicurist Ashlie Johnson; tailor Susie Kourinian for Susie’s Custom Designs. Produced by AL Studio. Set Design by Mary Howard.
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of helpful and concise FAQs about Anthony Vaccarellos cinematic direction for Saint Laurent
General Beginner Questions
Q What does cinematic direction mean for a fashion house like Saint Laurent
A It means the creative director Anthony Vaccarello designs clothing and stages fashion shows that feel like scenes from a dramatic stylish movie focusing on mood storytelling and powerful visuals
Q How is Anthony Vaccarellos vision different from previous designers at Saint Laurent
A While previous designers like Yves Saint Laurent and Hedi Slimane had their own iconic styles Vaccarello has pushed the brand further into a world of afterdark glamour sharp tailoring and creating a specific filmlike fantasy around the clothes
Q Can you give an example of this cinematic style
A A perfect example is his frequent use of the Menilmontant district in Paris for shows The dark empty streets at night with models emerging from the shadows under dramatic lighting creates a powerful and memorable scene
Show Presentation Questions
Q Where does Anthony Vaccarello typically hold his fashion shows
A He often chooses dramatic unconventional locations that enhance the cinematic feel such as against the backdrop of the illuminated Eiffel Tower on a pitchblack beach in Malibu or in the moody streets of Paris rather than in a traditional whitebox venue
Q Why are his shows often held at night
A The nighttime setting instantly creates a sense of mystery drama and intimacy It allows for dramatic lighting that highlights the sharp silhouettes and glossy textures of the clothing much like in a film noir
Q What kind of music is used in his shows
A The soundtracks are often intense atmospheric and pulsating featuring artists like The Cure or specially composed scores The music is chosen to build tension and emotion just like a film soundtrack
Design Aesthetic Questions
Q What are the key clothing items in his cinematic collections
A Youll consistently see sharpshouldered blazers sleek leather jackets dramatic evening gowns with cutouts fishnet stockings and stiletto heels The look is powerful confident and made for a dramatic entrance