the SAINT LAURENT WOMAN
Photographer: Klim Shevchuk 
The outstanding maestro of the 20th century, Monsieur Yves Saint Laurent, possessed a unique gift for enveloping the women of his time in the ephemeral “spider web light” of transparent fabrics and the finest lace, delicately but unerringly introducing notes of exquisite eroticism into the process. His collections did not simply offer clothing; they were a manifesto of a new femininity, balancing between fragility and strength, openness and mystery.
Saint Laurent masterfully played with translucency, creating images that emphasized the contours of the body without revealing them completely, thereby awakening the imagination and affirming a woman's right to her own sensuality, devoid of vulgarity. He liberated women by offering them not only tuxedos, but also the right to be desirable and strong at the same time, clothed in a haze of chiffon and silk.
In 2024, Anthony Vaccarello, the current creative director of Saint Laurent, continues to intuitively develop this design concept of his great predecessor. His collections are a continuation of the dialogue about female strength and vulnerability, embodied in the contrast between the “cruelty” and “softness” of the languid silhouettes of the 1920s and 1930s.
Vaccarello masterfully combines strict, graphic lines with flowing, enveloping shapes, creating images that seem both powerful and incredibly fragile at the same time. He draws inspiration from the era of decadence and Art Deco, reinterpreting its drama and elegance for a contemporary audience while retaining the recognizable aesthetics of Saint Laurent: impeccable tailoring, dominant black, and inimitable sexuality bordering on audacity.
In this context, the Saint Laurent woman of the 21st century appears as a ray of light piercing through the grey veil of the complexities and challenges of the modern world. She does not simply follow fashion trends but embodies the desire for self-discovery and the affirmation of her own individuality in the realities of a rapidly changing era.
She seeks her place, her unique identity, without fear of being noticed, but also without striving for ostentatious brightness. Vaccarello's clothes become not just an outfit for her, but a second skin that simultaneously protects and reveals, gives confidence and emphasizes inner freedom, allowing her to be both gentle and rebellious, desirable and unapproachable, fully in keeping with the spirit of the great fashion house and its founder.
CREDITS
Photographer: Klim Shevchuk @klim2way
Model: Kate Prokhorova @red_foxy
Make-up artist & hair stilist: Oksana Mihailova @oksana.mikhailova.pro
Style: Oksana Mihailova @oksana.mikhailova.pro