Romance Meets Gothic Seduction with Saint Laurent’s Spring/Summer 2026 Collection

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Saint Laurent

This week, Creative Director, Anthony Vaccarello, debuted Saint Laurent’s Spring/Summer 2026 womenswear collection with a star-studded show set in the heart of Paris amongst a twinkling Eiffel Tower backdrop. Celebrities like Zoe Kravitz, Hailey Bieber, Charli XCX, and even Madonna and her daughter Lourdes, sat amongst a cinematic atmosphere of fashion’s elite watching the models strut down a symbolic runway outlined by an abundance of white hydrangeas taking the shape of “YSL.”

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Saint Laurent

For this collection, Vacarello taps into historic codes of Yves Saint Laurent while giving them his own modern interpretation through the lens of romance and femininity mixed with the House’s gothic-like sensuality. For Vacarello, “At Saint Laurent, aesthetics are a language,” according to the show notes. “They reach beyond the surface to express a way of seeing the world, crossing boundaries of art, society, and politics.” 

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Saint Laurent

The Summer 2026 collection embodies the vision of stylistic language. “In a time when dialogue is fading, style becomes a form of discourse–not one that imposes, but one that connects and adds nuance. When the worlds divide, the Saint Laurent aesthetic creates space to breathe and invent new analogies.” Models are seen weaving through the space dressed in the brand’s signature silhouettes of oversized, extended shoulders on leather outerwear paired with tailored button ups complete with statement, bow-shaped ties and pencil midi skirts that cinch the looks together at the waist.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Saint Laurent

“The Saint Lauren woman is both heroine and classic, singular and multifaceted,” which is exactly what this collection showcases through its duality between workwear-inspired pieces and dramatic, feminine gowns. As for hero pieces we see vibrant-colored leather and nylon trench coats and sport-like midi dresses in the same textures. We see the contrasting worlds in the form of black leather clad princesses adorned in crowned jewels in a reference to late photographer Robert Mapplethorpe; enigmatic women assert a sense of power in Rive Gauche silhouettes featuring ever-flowing fabrics and bold colorways; while descendents of the Duchess of Guermantes or John Singer Sargent’s famed “Madame X” trade their silks for technical textiles. Each piece assets Vacarello’s sentiment that clothing is both a visual and symbolic argument. “Beauty is plural. Aesthetics become a language of resistance, respect, and inclusion.”