Sheer Madness
Review of Saint Laurent Fall 2024 Fashion Show
By Mark Wittmer
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
THE THEME
Already known as the enfant terrible of French fashion, thanks in large part to the introduction of his iconic Le Smoking jacket in 1966 that challenged mainstream notions of what women could and could not wear, Yves Saint Laurent further scandalized and thrilled his audience at the Fall 1968 couture show when a model took off her new iteration of Le Smoking to reveal a sheer blouse under which there were – bare breasts. The designer later explained that these pieces were meant for private evenings with one’s lover, not for strutting down the Champs-Élysées. Still, this simple but powerful act of revelation accelerated fashion forever.
56 years later, a visible breast on the runway doesn’t quite make the same impact. It’s still a potent look, but it’s hard to justify just how much Anthony Vaccarello’s Fall 2024 collection made use of it.
The creative director continued to push his penchant for long and lissome silhouettes, adding in a bit of postwar bourgeois flavor courtesy of flowy neckties and interesting head wraps that might have been an ironic wink at modesty. But the overarching design motif by far was the form-fitting, sheer blouse and skirt combination. While the look is no doubt striking, made for some interesting interplay of color and silhouette as the boundary between body and garment, and was realized through impressive wrapping techniques, by about the tenth time we saw it (which was only a third of the way through the 50-look collection) it was already feeling old.
The looks that departed from this repetitive motif gave us a tantalizing taste of the collection that could have been: an oversized cashmere coat, sculptural leather jackets with ballooning proportions, a sweater dress with built-in garters, opulent faux-fur coats. Intrigue and sensuality don’t come from revelation alone, but from the play of revelation and concealment. The collection could have felt much more engaging and empowering had Vaccarello and company pared back some of the completely sheer, form-fitting looks and followed what is really the exciting thread here: the tension and harmony of contrast. Even much of the jewelry is crafted in translucent glass – a clever idea, but here it adds to the sense of overdoneness rather than giving us a needed break from it.
THE BUZZWORDS
Revealing. Sheer. Opulent. Homogenous.
THE SHOWSTOPPER
Look #32
In a collection that was almost entirely about being revealing, the look that was one of the most covered up felt the most impactful. Several models carried this furry coat in what felt like a capitulation to the fact that it’s a Fall Winter collection, but we didn’t really feel its presence until it was finally worn in all of its voluminous, rich, protective glory.
THE DIRECTION
THE QUOTE
Close-fitting silk dresses –resembling sheer undergarments – simultaneously reveal and shroud the woman wearing them, like hyper-graphic X-rays. Transparency – a Saint Laurent signature – is reread, minimizing the distance between garment and skin so the two effectively meld and fabric evaporates like mist. Caressing the leg just below the knee, the length is classic, but the content is novel.”
– Anthony Vaccarello
THE WRAP UP
When you put it like that, it sounds great. But in practice, that “novel content” didn’t exactly emerge. It doesn’t feel like the collection told us anything about modern women, their relationship to their bodies and sexual intimacy, and how they choose to present it through clothing. Would a woman design this?
It’s frustrating that Vaccarello toyed with the contrast needed to balance out these sheer looks, but didn’t pursue it further. That consideration of the intimacy of revealing one’s body to a lover while still wearing clothes has tons of potential, but here it was handled with overtness and literalness that almost feels clumsy. What that idea needed the most – balance, tension, contrast – was what the collection lacked the most.
