SAINT LAURENT’S GOLDEN GARMENTS
“It is the Sun, it is the young Louis!” This is how Louis XIV appeared, dressed entirely in gold, at the Royal Ball of the Night in 1653.
At the Trocadéro, beneath giant chandeliers reminiscent of those in the Imperial Salon of the Intercontinental Hotel – where Yves Saint Laurent used to stage his haute couture shows as if they were rituals – Anthony Vaccarello, a master of set design, chose to celebrate the Spring-Summer 2027 collection: a golden parade punctuated by a few silhouettes in velvet and black muslin. An evening haze followed this gem of a show, sparkling with light, where every shade of gold came together: Byzantine brocades, pearlescent liquid gold, a leopard-print lamé safari dress, a metallic cotton canvas parka – to name but a few of the iconic pieces steeped in this celestial bath in honour of Apollo, the goddesses of the moon and the stars. Lace, lamé, embroidery – here we find the alchemy of Yves Saint Laurent, who declared: “I love gold; it’s a magical colour. For a woman’s reflection, it’s the colour of the sun.” Against a lapis-blue sky, with the glittering Eiffel Tower in the background, the collection certainly doesn’t lack panache: from silicone-patent jackets to evening gowns, from giant iridescent silk chiffon cravats to Cassandre heels, fifty-nine looks illuminated a season enhanced by these flamboyant trench coats, these ‘golden mist’ guipure lace pieces, and everything that brings sunshine to the Saint Laurent night. In Oran, Algeria, Yves Saint Laurent dreamt of seeing his name ‘in letters of gold’ on the Champs-Élysées. He turned gold into a dizzying spectacle. “Gold, because it represents purity and the flow of the spring that moulds the body until it becomes a single line,” asserted this master of seduction. Anthony Vaccarello paid tribute to him through this renewed desire for opulence and splendour. The creative director reinterpreted the golden age of haute couture in ready-to-wear – from the jewelled dress (1996) to the Shakespeare bride of 1981. Here, he showcased the highlights of the Gold exhibition (Yves Saint Laurent Museum, 2022) on a black catwalk. In this setting that seemed to be perfumed with Opium, Paris shone; Paris was a celebration, whilst the models gathered for the final tableau appeared to form a living ingot, and Charlotte Gainsbourg, in a tuxedo, etched the night with her signature voice.
L.B.