BEAUTY: Clothing--Saint Laurent

Anthony Vaccarello at Saint Laurent has been working hard to do away with gendered clothing for both men and women; he actually sees a sort of middle silhouette that is neither masculine nor feminine, and for this arresting Fall-Winter '23-'24 collection at Paris Fashion Week, he said, "I really want them [men and women] to be almost one person. So women could be the men, and the men could be the women. No difference. I want more and more to put them at the same level. No distinction." I like this idea of, not the feminization of men in clothing, but the promotion of true genderless dressing. And when one takes this current collection into consideration, well, goal achieved. I love the large bows at the neck, the trailing scarves, the sheer tops, and the below-the-knee sweaters that are, yes, dresses.

But what makes it so arresting for me is the attitude of these garments...they are steeped in a dramatic, darkly seductive power that is thrillingly approaching the Vampiric. Just listen to the creepy, atmospheric music for the show in the video at the bottom...it sounds like the soundtrack to "Interview With The Vampire." And the way the garments are styled is positively sepulchral. Even the location for the show--the Bourse de Commerce which currently houses the Pinault Collection--feels like some exquisite underground crypt.

https://www.ysl.com/