Saint Laurent's SS20 show focussed on all-black high-octane glamour

The show proved that no-one does Parisian glamour quite like Saint Laurent 
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Emma McCarthy25 September 2019

It’s not every fashion label that could entice Kate Moss and Zoe Kravitz to sit front row at its catwalk in the pouring rain. But then, Saint Laurent is not every fashion label.

At the French super-brand’s showcase last night in Paris, staged outside in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, the heavens opened, soaking the fashion press and famous fans alike who huddled under a narrow awning as their only means of protection. The hundreds of uninvited onlookers, who gathered on a grassy verge opposite to watch the spectacle unfold, had even less to shield them from the elements.

But when the curtain lifted, so too did the rain. Was it luck? Or was it the power of Saint Laurent? Certainly the precision timing of the event which unfolded would lead you to believe the latter.

Lit by a sea of sunken spotlights, which danced in rhythm to the thumping hard house soundtrack, designer Anthony Vaccarello delivered a succession of hits which have served to keep Saint Laurent the second biggest brand in the Kering group’s luxury fashion arsenal.

Saint Laurent SS20 (Getty Images )
Getty Images

Razor sharp velvet tux jackets, silk shirts unbuttoned to the navel and tiny leather short-shorts were among the headline acts, alongside sheer gold-embroidered dresses and skintight stirrup trousers.

Accessories were few but show-stopping, with knee-high cowboy boots and strappy sandals emblazoned with the signature YSL logo looking set to prove the standout buys of next season.

Saint Laurent SS20 (Getty Images )
Getty Images

When the lights went down and the Eiffel Tower began its glittering after-dark performance, right on cue Saint Laurent’s high-voltage eveningwear emerged determined to outshine it.

Superpower: Naomi Campbell on the catwalk
AFP/Getty Images

Featuring 37 all-black iterations of the brand’s iconic Le Smoking suit, from shimmering lurex to vinyl leather and sequin spangled - each more dazzling than the last - it seemed that Vaccarello was intent on proving that no-one does Parisian glamour quite like Saint Laurent.

Guest: Kate Moss
Getty Images

“It’s a Rive Gauche way of seeing clothes, a combination of the most iconic codes,” said the designer. “Saint Laurent is as much about attitude as it is spectacle.”

But just in case this show was lacking in either, Naomi Campbell’s closing walk - dressed in a full sequinned tuxedo - served as a guarantee that Saint Laurent’s rain lashed showcase was no damp squib.

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