Anthony Vaccarello is certainly hitting a sweet spot in his designing for Saint Laurent. Today in Paris, the Fall 2023 Ready-to-Wear Collection was presented in a venue that was modeled after the ballroom of the Intercontinental Hotel, the very place where the French fashion house’s couture presentations were held from 1975-2001. Underneath grand bronze chandeliers, Vaccarello showed his idea of the modern woman’s uniform; informed by an ‘80s-adjacent strength and a slick sense of modernity.

The collection is centered around the tailleur-jupe, with the oversized and extremely bold blazer acting as an anchor for the rest of the collection. These jackets are defined by a jarring shoulder, stabbing out horizontally in the creation of an uber-powerful silhouette that asserts a sense of dominance. This strong shoulder padding is upheld throughout the majority of the collection, seen in practically every garment, save for the sleeveless ones. To Vaccarello, this bold silhouette of a tailored jacket is an expression of modern femininity; exploring the dissolution of gendered items of clothing. In his push to blur lines between gendered clothing, Vaccarello has further used hints of classic menswear including pinstripes, glen plaids, and tartans.

While the central silhouette of the collection is nothing short of bold, there is an equal amount of fluidity that has been shown on the runway. Underneath the blazers are either low-slung tops that reveal a large swath of the chest, or pussybow blouses that give a voluminous softness in contrast to the protective jackets. Some tops are clearly meant to reveal due to their transparency while others are quite modest, with the show notes describing that “the Saint Laurent woman exposes her body when she desires and conceals it if she feels like it.”

What was most riveting in this precise presentation was certainly in the moments where draped scarves have been built into the statement blazers, cascading down the back like a train. An evolution of this stole-like addition to the blazer is seen in look 24, which shows a model who has been draped in a scarf atop her all-mighty blazer. The scarf is held in place with a metallic fixture, which allows the fabric to wrap gracefully around the front of the body before effortlessly floating off the back of the model.

As far as a consistent ensemble that is seen throughout the collection, Vaccarello has shown his idea of the uniform in the shape of his bold-shouldered jackets being paired with a slim pencil skirt. While the top that is worn under the blazer changes throughout, this general look is hammered in time and time again, which is reflective of the focus on uniform that Vaccarello has honed in on. In his past few seasons, Vaccarello has made it clear that his idea for the brand is one that is simultaneously powerful and undeniably-chic.