The presentation was conceived like an opera&mdash;layered, rich in reference.

&ldquo;This is my thirtieth show,&rdquo; said Anthony Vaccarello, creative director of Saint Laurent since 2016, as he unveiled the house&rsquo;s Spring/Summer 2026 collection. He is acutely aware of the moment: this year&rsquo;s European fashion season is charged with anticipation, as several major designers debut simultaneously, each vying for the spotlight.
Saint Laurent&rsquo;s show unfolded at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, on a stage of hydrangeas and green panels shaped into a monumental logo. Models emerged in gleaming leather jackets. The first, commanding and enigmatic, channelled the essence of a mysterious, elegant Frenchwoman.
The presentation was conceived like an opera&mdash;layered, rich in reference&mdash;yet its message was direct: the Saint Laurent woman is never static. She evolves, weaving together provocation, intellect, and aristocratic poise, then reshaping them into a form that demands freedom.

Oversized leather jackets with sculpted shoulders dominated the silhouette, paired with crisp white poplin shirts and loosely knotted bow ties. Lightweight nylon reappeared in high-necked trench coats, translucent safari dresses, and Belle &Eacute;poque gowns ingeniously designed to fold into zip-up bags like windbreakers. Vaccarello explained that he had been haunted by a 1970s interview with Fran&ccedil;oise Giroud, the former French Minister of Culture, who once described the YSL woman as &ldquo;loose by day, regal by night.&rdquo; From that image, he reimagined the 1980s &ldquo;leather daddies&rdquo; who prowled the Tuileries after dark, transforming their spirit into pencil skirts cut like armour, hefty biker jackets, and blousons with dramatically puffed sleeves.
The collection also drew on Yves Saint Laurent&rsquo;s gowns for Nan Kempner, H&eacute;l&egrave;ne Rochas, and Jane Birkin at the 1971 Proust Ball, as well as the film Queen Margot, one of Vaccarello&rsquo;s favourites, with Isabelle Adjani in sixteenth-century France. For the first time, he tapped the historical side of the house&rsquo;s archives, a trove he considers inexhaustible.
&ldquo;I still want to tell more stories,&rdquo; Vaccarello said. &ldquo;This is a legacy with so much to reveal.&rdquo;

Celebrities at Saint Laurent's Spring/Summer 2026 Show

HAILEY BIEBER, ZOË KRAVITZ, CHARLI XCX & ROSÉ. (Courtesy of Saint Laurent)

BLACKPINK's Rosé. (Courtesy of Saint Laurent)

Anthony Vaccarello Unveils Saint Laurent Spring/Summer 2026 Under the Paris Skyline

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