5 Iconic Moments from Anthony Vaccarello's Era at Saint Laurent Few will ever be as chic as him

After the grandiose farewell show at the last Paris Fashion Week, Anthony Vaccarello's departure from Saint Laurent has been officially confirmed. Where will the designer go now? Some believe he may be headed to Louis Vuitton's womenswear, others think he could go to Valentino. What is certain, however, is that this departure brings to a close one of the most fascinating narrative arcs of the last decade in fashion. Vaccarello arrived at Saint Laurent following his time at the now-defunct Versus Versace, and was tasked with taking on the complex legacy of Hedi Slimane, who had profoundly redefined the brand, making it his own over the course of an entire decade and slowly reshaping it.

After an initial period still tied to the rock-chic of the previous era, beginning with the FW20 show, Vaccarello unlocked a new formula: shadowy, titanic shows, looks repeated with military discipline, a nocturnal '80s aesthetic, and a blend of upper-bourgeois garments with a sensuality that was by turns androgynous, by turns sadomasochistic. In recent years the formula solidified, with collections anchored to a single look repeated dozens of times with minimal variations, always built on grandiose concepts and accompanied by SebastiAn's stunning soundtracks.

In the meantime, Saint Laurent established a film company, commissioned sculptures from Helmut Lang and Maison Integre, produced the viral tote bags and condoms of Rive Droite (very chic to own), and opened sushi restaurants. And with the Vaccarello era comes the close of a hugely important chapter in the brand's history — one we will remember for an aesthetic that, though it took shape gradually over a long period of time, completely rewrote what Saint Laurent means to the public, catapulting it into modernity. But what were the most iconic moments of his creative tenure?

1. Bella Hadid dressed as Yves Saint Laurent

For the SS25 season, Vaccarello explored menswear tailoring re-engineered for the female body. But the show was not limited to that: there were double-breasted suits paired with leather aviator jackets, stunning tunic dresses, and, for the finale, a series of composite tailored suits in shimmering fabrics with vivid contrasting colours, reminiscent of gemstones or the shells of the most exotic beetles. What sent shockwaves through the audience — and across the internet — was the appearance of Bella Hadid, after two years away from the runway, in a double-breasted jacket, glasses and hair pulled back in a sober ponytail, transformed into a clone of founder Yves himself. This was arguably his most complete show, the most quintessential.

2.      The revival of '80s shoulders

The Saint Laurent FW23 show was perhaps the one in which the concept of ad libitum repetition was most brilliantly executed. The candelabras, the elevated runway, the nightclub atmosphere: when we picture the Saint Laurent look today, we are probably picturing a look from that collection. The show also kept people talking for months about power dressing, oversized shoulders, and the return of '80s aesthetics at their very finest.

3.      The cuissardes show

Saint Laurent's menswear did not immediately receive much attention from Vaccarello — the first show dedicated to menswear was not held until 2018. But a very precise style soon took shape in the men's collections too: a highly minimal wardrobe, fluid yet not excessively delicate, sensual in its androgynous undertones. Everything changed with the FW25 menswear collection, however, where classic tailored suits were paired with thigh-high leather cuissardes, creating a pleasantly perverse contrast with the elegance of the rest, infusing the notion of power dressing with other, more scorching nuances. Today, those boots and that look are not only immediately associated with Vaccarello, but also launched the micro-tradition of footwear evoking the world of fetishism for the brand — a tradition that expanded into subsequent collections.

4.      The debut of the Opyum heels

If every creative tenure is defined by products that have altered the course of a brand and redefined its presence in real life, Vaccarello's first masterstroke was the Opyum heel — the one with the YSL monogram in place of a conventional heel, to be clear. Now, following Hedi Slimane's tenure, the brand had changed its logo, dropped its "Yves," and had perhaps partly lost its distinctly refined, French character in favour of a more rock, more Los Angeles-inflected style. No one had any clear idea of what new direction to give the brand, and Vaccarello himself described it as a "work in progress." But then those heels appeared in the show, resurrecting the beloved old Yves Saint Laurent logo and going on to become one of the biggest commercial hits of the past decade — proof that there is life after Slimane. The Opyum heel was the seed that would grow and, ultimately, over the years, blossom into the Saint Laurent we know today.

5.      The desert show

There were four destination shows during the Vaccarello era, mostly dedicated to menswear. Malibu, Berlin and Venice were relatively conventional affairs, not far removed from the nocturnal world and cavernous modernist spaces the designer seems to love. Then came the show in the Agafay desert in Morocco. The dunes, the sunset, an artificial mist drifting across the sand, and a large circular pool of water from which, at the finale, a ring of fire rose as models dressed entirely in black and white, in flowing and exquisitely delicate yet simple garments, walked around it. It still sends shivers down the spine — and to prove that behind the concept there was also solid commercial substance, the trousers and shoes from that show still make the mouth water.