Saint Laurent Mens Spring/Summer 2024 Show Reconfigures Traditional Masculinity
It was strength personified, interpreted through a reconfigured —yet equally powerful — lens.
When a collection is designed with stark colors of black and white (with sporadic excerpts of other hues), craftsmanship is everything. It's not about the extravagant location or over-the-top embellishments, the eye is focused on the silhouette, the impeccable fit, and the effortless movement. Those elements in themselves bring forth an unspoken power that overtakes the room — a feeling that was translated in Saint Laurent's Mens Spring/Summer 2024 collection.
The Maison has been praised for its strong and distinctive designs since its inception, codes that Creative Director Anthony Vaccarello has continued to uphold. For the Mens Spring/Summer 2024 show, Vaccarello explored freely through the constructed lines of masculinity and femininity. Noticeably referencing the Saint Laurent Spring/Summer 2023 collection, key silhouettes from the presentation such as sharp-shouldered suit jackets, exaggeratingly-low scoop neck satin tops, and concisely-draped blouses that fluidly fell into a long train took form.
The presence of said attire goes beyond the expected challenging of gender codes but shows the transitional ease Saint Laurent masterfully captures between its targeted man and woman, proving that powerful dressing works in harmony with masculinity and femininity. Set in Berlin’s Neue Nationalgalerie, the magnificent glass-and-steel temple matched the evoked sharpness merged with the quiet delicacy.
In continuity with the exploration of reimagined Saint Laurent themes, classic silhouettes such as flute pants and tailored jackets were paired with leopard prints and sheer fabrics, persuasively stripping away traditional implications set in a menswear context. Like every collection that has come before it, Vaccarello remained true to focalizing exquisitely crafted garments rooted in a timeless feeling though shaped with a contemporary edge.
