The Seduction of the Unseen
Review of Saint Laurent Spring 2027 Men’s Fashion Show
By Angela Baidoo
When Anthony Vacarello co-signs the need for no more drama you can be sure that we have now entered trending territory.
Coming off the back of Milan, where designers spoke to the need for reduction and rejecting the need for more ‘useless design,’ Vacarello’s contribution to the conversation has been to ask, what if restraint, and effectively pulling back from being ever-present, may turn out to be the most effective seduction technique for today’s man? ‘Restraint as seduction—and the luxury of absence’ as the show notes put it. Here was a collection that remained true to the Saint Laurent man, yet it expressed desire in the unsaid and the unseen.
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
No More Drama, Embracing Restraint, The Luxury of Absence
It is encouraging to see the luxury industry start to entertain the idea of discernment as an attitude, rather than the class cos-play we saw with quiet luxury. Yet the designer never fully strays too far away from where his Saint Laurent man feels most comfortable, except that we had subtle shifts in cut and construction which toy with the idea of restraint. The collection was designed with precision, but there was a softness that could be felt around the edges – from the pleated trousers cut high on the waist to the gauzy sweaters.
Could this be a mellowing of the homme fatal that we have been used to seeing on the designers runways? Perhaps, but not quite, we were still given a sliver of bare chest peeking out from three-button blazers (that were admittedly ‘cut higher on the body’ as the notes confirmed) and the cheeky addition of the tone-on-tone Y-fronts veering slightly into flasher territory, but when worn covered with a trench this could be what he meant by the luxury of absence – is he, or isn’t he wearing pants under that cover-up? The golden finale looks were for the brand faithful, as they hinted at excess but in a way that transformed a symbol of utility – the trenchcoat – into a maximalist item for the everyday.
The ongoing use of sportswear coded silhouettes to subvert the standard fare of tailored looks was once again rendered as athletic blousons – no doubt to continue riding the wave of the popular womenswear versions. Here, they were formed of technical taffeta that appeared almost cloud-like in their delicacy, a theme that also closed the show.
Held at the Bourse de Commerce, the finale incorporated the fog installation currently on display by Fujiko Nakaya titled Cloud #07156, enveloping the models in a thick fog that drove home the concept that underlined the show. The idea of the unseen, of restraint through omission, inspired by figures throughout history who made the same theme their calling cards, such as Marguerite Duras and the dashing Mr Ripley whose outward composure hid something altogether more sinister.
THE WRAP UP
In seeking to extract more meaning from his craft, spring 2027 was an exercise in rejecting ‘stylistic excess’ and relearning how to quiet our minds and embrace the pleasure of the unknown.
