SAINT LAURENT MEN’S SS22 (FWC TBFashion)

On this edition of FWC TBFashion, we’re looking at SAINT LAURENT’s menswear SS22 show. In the realm of fashion, Venice emerges as a miraculous backdrop for the YSL MEN’S SPRING SUMMER 2022 show, exuding an enchantment that surpasses all expectations.

With fewer tourists and dolphins playfully gracing the laguna, the city takes on an ethereal quality. Celebrating this moment, the fragile lagoon had been declared a national monument, and a ban on imposing cruise ships had been announced by the Italian government, signifying a step towards preserving the city’s essence.

Against the backdrop of Venice’s empty lanes and serene piazzas, the models and brand icons of Anthony Vaccarello’s Saint Laurent stand out like slender apparitions, adorned with tattoos and exuding an attitude that commands attention. These individuals gather in the city’s fabled landscape, ready to grace the runway in Vaccarello’s compellingly eclectic collection, although body diversity remains absent from the menswear dialogue.

Reflecting Venice’s architectural focus, Vaccarello collaborates with the boundary-pushing artist and filmmaker Doug Aitken to create an immersive environment for his collection. Aitken presents Green Lens, a mesmerizing structure adorned with mirror facets and enveloped in lush greenery, crafted on the Isola della Certosa in just one month.

This creation serves as a response to the thematic question posed by the Venice Architecture Biennale, seamlessly blending futurism with the natural world.

Vaccarello shares his excitement about the collaboration, stating, “All the sets of Saint Laurent I’ve always done myself in a way, so it was nice to share a concept for the first time with an artist who I truly admire, and it was fun.”

Originally intended for the women’s show last year, the concept found its perfect home in Venice, aligning with the Architecture Biennale and capturing the essence of the collection—a fusion of Saint Laurent influences and Venetian “New Romanticism.” Vaccarello explains, “Not putting them into the historical, classical Venetian way, but in a futuristic environment. I think after COVID you want to look more into the future than the past—and I like that mix of the past in the references in the clothes, and the future in the setting.”

As the fast-paced show unfolds, the mirror-faceted structure reflects the captivating hues of the sky, the gentle light of dusk, and the shimmering waters of the lagoon. Aitken’s lighting further enhances the ambiance, shifting between a fiery sunset and a serene, icy blue Scandinavian dawn.

Refracted through the mirrors, Vaccarello’s tribe strides confidently in sleek jackets, billowing piratical blouses reminiscent of Adam Ant and Britain’s early 1980s New Romantics, and cigarette-leg pants paired with winkle picker ankle boots, elongating the slender silhouette even more.