The Yves Saint Laurent show for Paris Fashion Week showcased their upcoming spring/summer 2026 collection. The show was held in a beautiful garden of white hydrangeas on a terrace with the Eiffel Tower soaring above in the background. The hedges revealed a beautiful YSL emblem, visible only from a bird’s-eye view.
The event was already undeniably chic with just a glimpse of the atmosphere. A slew of A-list celebrities were in attendance at the show. Madonna, Charli XCX, Kate Moss, and Jean Paul Gaultier were spotted in the front row. As well as Catherine Deneuve and Betty Catroux, who are the original YSL muses. Anthony Vaccarello has been the creative director of YSL since 2016. The show was flooded with bold and feminine silhouettes.
The show was sectioned into three waves of looks. The first look steps out directly from the 80s. A model emerges in a full leather suit set with drastically structured shoulders. From what we can tell already, leather skirts are in this year. The suit was complemented with oversized pussy-bows attached to the dress shirt. Each look is complemented with large chunky gemmed Madonna-esque earrings sparkling against the evening lights, and paired with thick sunglasses. My favorite look was a pencil skirt and biker jacket set paired with a matching leather military hat. So fierce, and easily my favorite style of hat (I own three).
The next wave of looks features jewel-toned nylon trench coats with a skin-tight turtle neck collar. As models stomp by, we see the revival of the long pointy toe heel that lived in the ’50s. Bella Hadid makes her first appearance this season in an orange nylon iridescent dress with broad shoulder pads. She looks fab, and we are so happy she is making a comeback!
Now, in the third wave, huge Nylon gowns with beautiful ruffles appear on the catwalk. They billow up with air to create a large, cape-like silhouette with a long train. Vacarello states this is the “first time he had tackled the historical side of the Saint Laurent archive”. Hence, the dreamy gowns that look like they just popped out of an 1800s ball.
All 3 of these waves of looks are, from afar, very similarly looking. However, each silhouette is slightly different or has a different neckline. Some may be detailed with extra ruffles or a looser-tied pussy bow. The devil really is in the details when it comes to this collection.
Additionally, there are parallels between YSL’s men’s SS ’26 show and the current women’s show. There was a similar use of color palettes as well as the nylon fabric techniques seen in the women’s show. There were also a lot of bold chunky sunglasses in a male format.
The clearest way we can describe the waves of curated style is Vacarellos’s comments on the show backstage. In a WWD115 interview, he says he was inspired by a quote from the French minister of culture from the 70s, Françoise Giroud. She claimed that YSL women are louche by day, countess by night. Louche is presented in the first act, where sultry models strut out in leather teddies, looking like they are about to act improperly. There is a transition between the day and night where the louche ideation meets the color palette of the countess. In Act 3, the countess prances out in the most dramatic and jaw-dropping gowns you will ever see. Every step appears airy and effortless as a cape of nylon floats behind them in the most meticulously chosen shades. Vacarellos’ overall vision for the show was to make it feel as “YSL as possible,” and it certainly is the maximum amount of YSL allowed.
Ultimately, this show was one of the highlights of this year’s Spring/Summer Paris Fashion Week. I think I speak for everyone when I say that all YSL fans are looking forward to where Vacarello takes the next show. Hopefully he runs with this sultry 80’s esque concept for a little while longer. Signs point to yes as he says the YSL archives are “inexhaustible”. Vacarello, is telling YSL’s story with grace and carrying its legacy on in an impressive historical manner.
Words by Audrey Baker
Graphic by Eve Friday and Ally Gall