We all knew fashion would eventually come around to this moment: Where many of the trendiest clothes to wear are, in fact, barely there to begin with. Sex sells, after all—but in the hands of Anthony Vaccarello at Saint Laurent, there’s always more to dressing, even the naked kind, than meets the eye.
Indeed, most of Vaccarello’s 40-odd looks for fall/winter 2024 are see-through—sheer fabrics, more often seen used for tights, were stretched thinly across the body in just about every way imaginable, from the skimpier minidresses to the slightly longer pencil skirts, bow-neck blouses to bandage dresses. For the most part, fluffy coats were carried as accessories rather than worn as outerwear. And yet despite all the bare breasts and long legs on display, there was nothing about the show that felt sleazy or salacious—clothes not so much focused on revealing the body underneath, but rather, revealing just how constrictive clothes are.
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If calls to free the nipple bring about echoes of feminist manifestos, then what does Vaccarello have to say about this? This collection commentates on the inherent contradictions which arise when women strip down in the name of their own liberation. The models walking down the runway here looked impeccably chic but impossibly uncomfortable—one can only imagine how they would put some of these clothes on in the morning, let alone where they could wear them without getting one too many side-eyes or stares. Indeed, despite our very best efforts to wear clothes which are designed to make us look good, feel better about showing off our bodies, many of us still feel trapped by the consequences—what happens when we hope to find self-validation only to be told we’re really just seeking attention?
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Among the many impracticalities of womanhood, the one Vaccarello posits here is most apt this season. Fashion, despite many designers’s best efforts and intentions to celebrate girl power and the female form, might as well give up on trying to make feminism happen in a misogynistic society. To Vaccarello, naked dressing is not so much a fashion trend as it is an indicator of what’s going on in the world today, and he seems to be suggesting that he’s seen enough. After all, if any of us dared to truly dress naked without fear, what would be the point of covering up in the first place?