Saint Laurent artistic director Anthony Vaccarello has perhaps the richest source material to draw from when it comes to creating incomparably elegant menswear collections: the man himself, Yves Saint Laurent.
Yves may have designed for women, but he carved for himself such a remarkable signature style – languid, opulent, both tailored yet sensual combining his native French panache with more comfortable fits of Morocco where he would spend much of his time during adulthood – that it’s now a blueprint for the menswear line of his eponymous label.
This connection, one that threads the present brand to it’s origins, was crystallised with the Spring Summer 2023 collection that wove the motifs of Saint Laurent’s womenswear into menswear. A reverse engineering of codes that began when Yves used traditionally masculine silhouettes for his ready-to-wear womenswear as seen in the introduction of the Le Smoking tuxedo.
Now available in store, this aesthetic explored in the Saint Laurent Summer 2023 collection is one that sits on the threshold of androgynous yet retains its masculine sensuality, Yves Saint Laurent and his personal wardrobe is the perfect style inspiration for men today.
It starts with the suit…
SAINT LAURENT BELTED JACKET IN SILK SATIN. PRICE: $4075. SHOP NOW.
As mentioned, Vaccarello has given the men’s tailoring at Saint Laurent the same treatment it does for womenswear: elongated fluid lines that, while softening the silhouette, are still structured. Pleated pants in crepe satin paired with a silk satin jacket that belts across the front rather than buttons depart from the standard suiting norm.
SAINT LAURENT CREPE SATIN PANTS. PRICE: $2125. SHOP NOW.
Shirting has been switched in favour for blouse-like tops where no tie is needed when the formal detail comes via a decorative lavallière neck (Yves was fond of a scarf, personally, worn while footwear asks: don’t be afraid of a bit of height. Embrace it. French royalty once did.
SAINT LAURENT LAVALLIÈRE-NECK BLOUSE. PRICE: $2440. SHOP NOW.
Bags are smaller, lighter, undifferentiated from women’s accessories making the statement that was obvious all along – great style is neither the singular domain of men’s or women’s and beyond both.
