Saint Laurent's SS19 Show Was an NYC Glitterati Extravaganza
Inspired by a legendary 1978 downtown party.
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Anthony Vaccarello is clearly a romantic for postcard urban landscapes. For Fall/Winter 2018, the designer set his fourth runway show for legacy French house Saint Laurent against an Eiffel Tower backdrop. This season, Vaccarello ditched the Parisian streets for New York City – in the most Saint Laurent way possible, of course.
Though technically located in New Jersey, the show set up shop in Liberty State Park, opposite both Liberty Island and Ellis Island. Towered atop a massive scaffolding that emitted a slow streamline of thick fog, a glossy black marble runway that nearly blended into the Hudson’s murky waters sat between rows of bleacher seats and a breathtaking view of downtown Manhattan. Guests, which included the likes of seasoned fashion industry folk and VIP regulars such as Travis Scott, 21 Savage, Lauryn Hill, Kate Moss, Dave Franco and Lakeith Stanfield, arrived in fleets of Uber cars and ferry boats that departed from Battery Park City.
Spring/Summer 2019 was a unique season for the house; despite being Vaccarello’s debut New York show, the collection marked the designer’s first proper menswear collection since taking the reigns from the label’s predecessor, Hedi Slimane. Though the line drew inspiration from Yves Saint Laurent’s legendary 1978 Opium fragrance launch party that hosted icons such as Cher, Truman Capote and Diana Vreeland, SS19 featured trademark Saint Laurent rocker-chic touchstones that have since defined modern-day youthful fashionistas.
High-waisted flared trousers, skintight black denim and sequined bottoms were fastened by leather western belts with oval metal buckles. Ultra-thin (almost transparent), liquid-like shirting was styled under leather blazers, crushed velvet bombers and embroidered Western jackets. The footwear range comprised of low-top skate sneakers, square-toed snakeskin and croc booties and patchwork leather cowboy boots – not a chunky dad shoe in sight. Concluding the show was a parade of silver glitter-slathered models ornamented by thin silk scarves, bandanas, long neck chains and dreamcatcher necklaces.
Take a closer look at Saint Laurent’s Spring/Summer 2019 collection via the gallery above.
In case you missed it, check out what went down at Alexander Wang’s recent NYC fashion show.
