If the “Free the Nipple” campaign is a relatively recent phenomenon designed to push back against Instagram’s ban on women’s nipples, Yves Saint Laurent has been playing the role long before the advent of social media. there was. In 1968, he debuted a chiffon design that was quickly dubbed a “see-through blouse” by the press, worn without anything underneath.
It’s an item that definitely appeared on Saint Laurent’s current creative director Anthony Vaccarello’s mood board on Tuesday night during Paris Fashion Week. His Fall/Winter 2024 collection was dominated by see-through fabrics, with most of the models showing off their chests under translucent blouses, fitted T-shirts, and sleeveless tops. Some wore transparent pencil skirts, with high-leg knickers visible underneath.
Saint Laurent has been popular on the red carpet during the current awards season, with stars such as Dominic Sessa, Quinta Branson and Cillian Murphy wearing its designs.
There were also a number of Parisian celebrities, including Kate Moss, Charlotte Rampling, Rossy de Palma and Georgia May Jagger, who sat in the front row. If the focus was on sheer fabrics that are not “work-appropriate,” those thinking about what to wear for a future photoshoot would definitely be thinking about jewel-toned satin blouses, We would have been delighted to see different interpretations of glamor, such as pantsuits in bold colors. A disco “chubby” coat with shoulders, a slouchy shape, and plenty of marabou feathers.
Saint Laurent’s transparency is once again in the spotlight, perhaps because the Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Paris is hosting an exhibition called Sheer, which focuses on the designer’s work with transparent fabrics. do not have. But Vaccarello isn’t just inspired by the brand’s founder.
The collection’s show notes mention another Sheer moment. This is the “naked” dress that Marilyn Monroe wore to sing “Happy Birthday Mr. President” in 1962. The latest hot topic is Kim Kardashian wearing a real dress at the 2022 Met Gala. The mention here shows that women who wore clothing that revealed or concealed their bodies continued to have an influence more than 60 years after her Monroe.
The connection between culture and fashion was a theme during Vaccarello’s time at Saint Laurent. The brand has continued to strengthen these connections, even as its Summer 2023 project has come under fire for selling vintage band T-shirts for thousands of euros. The company recently opened a bookstore called Saint Laurent Babylon in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. With inventory hand-selected by Vaccarello, this year’s Paris Fashion Week events, including autograph sessions with supermodel Linda Evangelista and photographer Jürgen Teller, and an exhibition by British artist Rose Finn-Kelsey The momentum will be further strengthened.
This comes as older models such as Michael Stipe, Lauren Hutton and even 79-year-old Diana Ross finally bring racial diversity into the trend in a very welcome move. It follows a series of advertisements that have featured and been praised by the fashion press.
Like many luxury brands, Saint Laurent is facing declining revenues. Kering, the group that owns the brand, reported a 4% decline in sales in the third quarter of 2023 on a comparable basis, despite “House achieving positive momentum in women’s ready-to-wear.” The show has always focused on high-impact, sheer pieces, and is set to cement its place in 2024.
