It's gold! And then gold again!

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Is Vaccarello’s Saint Laurent Tenure Coming to a Close?

6 October, 2026

Words by:

Sarah Palmieri

Ten years, 59 looks and more gold than anyone could count. Anthony Vaccarello marked his decade at Saint Laurent in full view of the Eiffel Tower... as per usual.

Anthony Vaccarello chose his motif and quadrupled down. For Saint Laurent’s Summer 2027 show on 29 September, nearly 50 of the 59 looks were gold. The show also marked his ten years at the house, and of course it was held at the Trocadéro, right in sight of the Eiffel Tower.

Saint Laurent and the tower found their alignment again. A collective sigh from fashion lovers everywhere, knowing that under Vaccarello the house will always stay pristine.

A bit of history. Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé opened the house in 1962. In 1966 came Le Smoking, the first tuxedo designed for women, and Rive Gauche, the first ready-to-wear line from a couture house. Hedi Slimane dropped the “Yves” in 2012 and Vaccarello took over in 2016.

Yves loved gold. “It is a magical colour,” he said. “When reflecting a woman, it’s the colour of the sun.” Vaccarello clearly took that to heart.

She walks up the stairs toward the tower in a tall, strappy open-toe heel, a long scarf trailing from her neck behind her. A gold jacket, puffed at the sleeves and cinched into a pencil skirt that stops just below the knee.

Glamour and gold under the Paris moon were very on trend this season. The models looked like little pieces of the Eiffel Tower’s lights as they came down the runway. Two huge gold chandeliers hung over the catwalk, with candelabras lit through the audience.

Vaccarello is an elusive figure with obviously incredible taste, and he usually has my full faith. But I’ll say it: this runway felt like a slip. I get it! It’s all gold, everything is gold, and yet I got a little bored. A cropped tailored blazer with brown fur at the wrists did grab my attention again, especially when it came back as a dress with protruding shoulders.

Saint Laurent is all about the legs, about what’s shown and what isn’t. The Saint Laurent woman is desirable, alluring, powerful, sexy. When the gold ran out and the black came in, she was back. A gorgeous one-shoulder gown with a high split at the hip and layered panels across the chest (Chloë Sevigny would do fabulous things in this).

Look, I didn’t mind it, but it certainly wasn’t groundbreaking.

At the near end of the show Charlotte Gainsbourg came out and sang an original song for Yves and for Vaccarello as the models did their final walk. There was an organ on the soundtrack, the front row was dressed in black, and the show notes read: “A light shines all the more brightly because we know it cannot be held. What passes sometimes leaves more light than what remains.”

So is Vaccarello’s final curtain call around the corner? Nothing’s been confirmed and Saint Laurent hasn’t said anything. But ten years to the season, a whole collection in the founder’s favourite colour, and a song written for him? I wouldn’t be surprised.

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