Paris when it sizzles. Right now, it’s the epicenter of fashion news, starting earlier today with the return of Olivier Theyskens and now the debut of Anthony Vaccarello at Yves Saint Laurent. (Stay tuned for more firsts later this week at Dior and Lanvin.) And Vaccarello’s take on Yves Saint Laurent was a blend of both house codes set by Saint Laurent himself and the ra-ra-razzle of Slimane.

It was hard not to miss the love of ’80s Saint Laurent in the gold and black minis with strong shoulders and that sense of excess that the decade championed. Vaccarello hinted early on that the show was inspired by a dress of Saint Laurent’s from 1982, but that he rejiggered it in leather and lace. It should be noted that he was born in 1982.

There was a lot of leather and lace done up in skimpy little dresses, tops with sweetheart necklines, asymmetric looks, cut-out tops and loads of skinny suits. What was new were the denim jeans, cuffed and rolled—again, a nod to ’80s style.

The best looks were those that didn’t do too much—a carved out sequined mini, updated Le Smoking jackets and skinny trousers and the aforementioned jeans.

Saint Laurent is as Parisian as the Louvre and the Champs Elysee. It’s hallowed ground for fashion folks, whether you remember when Yves was designing, Tom Ford or Slimane. The company is in the black right now, making it one less thing Vaccarello has to worry about (no brand jump-starting necessary), but he does have to keep the spirit of Saint Laurent alive. While the clothes didn’t always hit their mark, one bright spot was the demonstrative re-emergence of the logo. A giant YSL marquee was suspended by a crane outside while the models’ stilettos were carved YSLs. So yes, for now at lest, Vaccarello is very much walking in someone else’s footsteps.

From: Harper’s BAZAAR US