Issue link: https://www.balharbourdigital.com/i/1546381
The collection all but strips the designer's visual vocabulary to its studs with sharpened-to-a-blade tailoring, structured lace, and a determined air of seduction. Laurent now firmly has its threads in a film studio, a publishing imprint, fine jewelry (Saint Laurent launched haute bijoux in 2023), an art gallery, a furniture focus and, even, a sushi restaurant. To understand the foundations of Vaccarello's world-building, his Fall/ Winter 2026 collection is a good place to start: The lineup all but strips the designer's visual vocabulary to its studs. There is a reduction in flair—see sharpened-to-a-blade tailoring, structured lace, and a sort of determined air of seduction. He looked at Yves Saint Laurent's famed Le Smoking single- and double-breasted suits, cut in black and chocolate brown, and let the collection orbit around them. Other highlights: oversized faux fur cinched at the hip with satin ribbons, and a silicone trench that underscored the runway's impression of soft severity. Some critics and social media observers said it was too rehashed and lacked novelty. But Vaccarello is confident and shrewd enough to know that, even when working within strict limits, his work still shines with his unique imprint of sensuality. If Fall/Winter 2026 saw Vaccarello distilling the house down, Spring/ Summer 2024 (this writer's favorite) was him fully surrendering to it. The collection remains the high-water mark of his tenure. The season was built around the saharienne, which was Yves Saint Laurent's original safari jacket, and which was introduced on the runway in 1967. Vaccarello had played with it a bit before, but this season was the first time he gave the jacket an entire spotlight, staged on a marble platform under the Eiffel Tower. His approach then would produce one of the most purely beautiful proposals of his career: a desert palette of beige, khaki, ochre, sienna, and glacé brown; unlined safari jackets finished with simple leather belts; pleated trousers in burgundy and cream; sheer tops and cargo dresses; and a closing trio of mousseline evening gowns in charcoal, brown, and mustard. Reverence for the archival has shown up in Saint Laurent's design collaborations, too. Two of my favorite examples exist on opposite ends of the house's visual range. In 2021, Vaccarello collaborated with the Memphis Group to mark the Italian design collective's 40th anniversary, translating its pop-bright and postmodern furniture into checkerboard hoodies, dresses, and sneakers, all of which were staged alongside an exhibition of original Memphis pieces in Paris and LA (Vaccarello maintains a very strong, smart pipeline between the two cities; more on this below). In 2025, Saint Laurent brought to life four unrealized furniture designs by the legendary Charlotte Perriand. These pieces had only existed as small-scale models, and had been devised between the 1940s and the '60s. Under Vaccarello's creative direction, the items were built at full scale for the first time, including an extraordinary banquette made for the Japanese ambassadorial residence in Paris, and the Bibliothèque Rio de Janeiro, a bookshelf with a distinctly Brazilian flair. As it happens—and fittingly—Yves Saint Laurent himself collected Perriand's work during his lifetime. Back to LA: Very few modern-day brands have commanded so much presence and respect among celebrities and Hollywood fixtures as Saint 178 178 BALHAR B O U RSH O P S .CO M