Anthony Vaccarello’s Pre-Fall 2025 collection for Saint Laurent is a seductive tribute to dual revolutions—musical and sartorial—that transformed the cultural fabric of France in 1966. Anchored in the cool defiance of Françoise Hardy and the radical democratization heralded by Yves Saint Laurent’s Rive Gauche line, the collection finds its pulse in the intersection of effortless attitude and high-impact polish.

Vaccarello channels Hardy’s androgynous poise and Parisian insouciance through silhouettes that blend slouchy masculinity with sharp feminine detail. Oversized leather jackets with a “badass” bravado, tartan shirting, and croc-effect pencil skirts evoke a glam-punk spirit filtered through a refined French lens. It's nonchalance with precision—cool without trying.

The narrative deepens with nods to the original Rive Gauche spirit: accessible, modern, and liberated from the formality of couture. Checks—tartan, plaid, Prince of Wales—are reimagined across tailored blousons, pleated skirts, and razor-sharp blazers. These bourgeois staples are juxtaposed with dramatic, deconstructed silhouettes: ruffled skirts that trail like couture gowns in the back and flirt like minis in the front. Styled with tees, simple knits, and substantial gold jewelry, they capture a woman who commands both simplicity and spectacle.

Vaccarello’s message is as much about nostalgia as it is about now. The collection is grounded in historical reverence yet fully tuned to the complexities of the modern woman—her contradictions, her freedoms, her need for clothing that merges fantasy with function. Even boudoir elements are tempered: sheer slips peeking from under heavy coats, anchored with sculptural boots that suggest grounded sensuality over fleeting flirtation.

With Pre-Fall 2025, Saint Laurent doesn’t just revisit 1966—it reimagines it for a new era of autonomy, where fashion is less about following rules and more about rewriting them.