Saint Laurent. Fall 2020 Ready-to-Wear - Paris Fashion Week.

Images from the designer and the public domain. Credited to the photographer/company where applicable: Gorunway.com .  

After the closing ennui of Maria Grazia Chiuri's slogan fest for Christian Dior, which boardlined on an even spread of delusional hypocrisy (“Patriarch =climate emergency”) to which Women's Wear Daily executive editor Bridget Foley very rightly pointed out that the billionaire Bernard Arnault who owns Christian Dior is by definition that “patriarch of patronage”.  The main threat facing the luxury industry, beyond following the echo chamber of Twitter trends, is actually the simplicity of a virus now named Covid-19. Which doesn't discriminate nor care about overblown culture wars from both sides, yet, it will most definitely crimp the desire of luxury via the Chinese consumers.  As supply chains, across the board, begin to shutdown on contagion fears.  If anything in lieu of social/political speak, from a simple perspective: we've become overconfident, yet as the same time aware of the fear that exponential markets don't last forever and not everyone can be a winner.  

So it is refreshing seeing Anthony Vaccarello, who, since taking the reins of Saint Laurent after his debut show for Spring 2017, has kept an even keel without any media discourse. Which makes sense, once again, the biggest buyers of the French, English and Italian fashion houses are Chinese, Japanese and South Korean's.  Vaccarello maintaining this focus as a pure market entity, has helped Kering, the parent company of YSL, to attain 2 billion euros in profits since taking the creative director helm.  Of course, on reflection this an impressive result, the reality, as mentioned, is that a pandemic fear has begun, which so far has crashed stock markets.  But as a lagging indicator, for the Fall 2020 showings, with Italy facing a problem with the virus outbreak, over the top theatrical A-listed fashion shows continued on.  With collections running from 80 to over 100 pieces on display, these were the larger hedged bets that department store buyers will have a greater selection to pick from.  It shows some of the risks that the luxury brands are willing to take in crowding the saturated fashion market.  No slow fashion here at this point in time. 

For Saint Laurent' Fall 2020 showing Vaccarello has maintained his fascination with 1970s, 1980s hedonic, seen in most of his collections to date and more so in the Pre Fall 2020 styles. There is a nostalgic desire from Vaccarello to relive some of the more effete memoirs of New York Chelsea Hotel to the many hopeful starlets that descended on Hollywood Boulevard and its broken dreams. At times, I feel he has awaken a dark resonance, which is fine in its contrast of the over-hyped sensibilities.  Yet at times, it is feels a little too blunt and cold, it could be softened slightly, maybe with moments of sombre introspection for the ghosts of past.  So the story feels less glamorized.

Lingerie outwear, as a noted trend for 2020, holds true with Vaccarello's tailored blazer looks maintaining the YSL line.  There is an abundance of latex and bondage themes which run throughout the entire collection within its total of 67 styles.  Whilst upping the ante of the sheer, sexy and alluring arrays, defined solely in its mystique of feminine eroticism.  Vaccarello has super hyped his latest Fall collection so that it drips with a seductive opulence, an unforgiving testament in its delivery of the carnal, yet this will be, as the main trend for 2020, a very marketable concept. 

Amorous is the new black.