For Spring/Summer 2027, Anthony Vaccarello turned Saint Laurent entirely to gold. After a decade at the house, and amid persistent reports that he may be preparing to leave, the collection inevitably carried the feeling of a possible farewell. Nothing has been officially confirmed by the brand, but the clues were difficult to ignore. The show marked Vaccarello’s tenth anniversary at the house, his note to guests described the collection as deeply personal, and Charlotte Gainsbourg closed the show with a surprise performance.
If this was a goodbye, Vaccarello made it spectacular. Gold became the collection’s central obsession, appearing in shades from pale and Byzantine to burnished and almost Brutalist. Lamé, organza, guipure lace, mousseline, brocade and jacquard gave the colour a constantly shifting quality, while even latex was coated in gold leaf.
He gilded the great Saint Laurent archetypes: sahariennes, trenches, wrap skirts and fluid blouses, alongside the strong-shouldered coats, voluminous blousons and precise suits that have defined his own era at the house. The result was glamorous, dramatic and completely committed to its singular idea.
The accessories pushed the opulence further. Monumental jewelled filigree earrings framed the face, while the shoes brought a particularly seductive sense of danger, with gilded metallic chains and sculptural snake-shaped heels winding beneath vertiginous stilettos.
Then came the reversal. The final looks abandoned the gold for black: first a velvet suit with jeweled buttons, followed by three sweeping, cloud-like evening dresses. Charlotte Gainsbourg’s performance made the finale feel even more emotional, with the song’s refrain invoking Yves Saint Laurent himself.
Whether or not this ultimately proves to be Vaccarello’s final Saint Laurent collection, it was an extraordinarily convincing finale to a decade that has firmly established his interpretation of the house with gold as the perfect metaphor: radiant, excessive, sensual and impossible to ignore.
