At Saint Laurent Spring 2025, a Tribute to the House’s Iconic Founder

It’s an understatement to say that Saint Laurent’s spring 2025 show, held in Paris at the brand’s Left Bank headquarters, was a star-studded affair. Everywhere you looked, there was an A-list celebrity, like some convention for prominent cheekbones: Gwyneth Paltrow, Rami Malek, Zoë Kravitz, Blackpink’s Rosé, Carla Bruni, Catherine Deneuve, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kate Moss, Lenny Kravitz, Rina Sawayama. Despite the high number of notable guests (Nicole Richie and Jim Jarmusch were there, too), there was one superstar who stole the show: Bella Hadid, making a triumphant return to the runway in an inky black power suit.

Hadid had not walked a runway show since October 2022, taking time off from the fashion world to focus on her health. Her appearance on the runway—partway through the show, with a confident strut—made the Internet lose its collective mind. “The queen is back,” cried the tweets. Supermodel Anok Yai, who also took to the Saint Laurent runway, summed it up best. “My bitch back after leaving me for dead,” she wrote on Instagram, over a selfie with Hadid.

But onto the clothes, which were sharp and fabulous. Saint Laurent’s creative director Anthony Vacarello paid tribute to the house’s founder, designer Yves Saint Laurent, and the codes he created for the brand, especially those from the 1970s and ’80s. The dramatic set, featuring a massive golden frieze beneath the night sky, included a cobalt-blue runway floor slick from rain, a nod to Yves’s famed lapis lazuli-inspired gardens at his residence in Marrakech. And in another salute to Yves, there was suiting—masculine, muscular, and hulking.

Yves Saint Laurent famously dressed women in suits (think of le smoking) during the 1960s, forever associating the house with the silhouette. But Vaccarello’s take looked like the kind the founder himself wore, especially when paired with very Yves-like eyewear. The brand described the suiting as fluid, and it was, with long double-breasted blazers and pleated trousers that moved without a hint of stiffness. Shoulders were broad and came to dramatic points, ties were wide, and sleeves were pushed up under trench coats and rounded leather bombers. Some models were styled with cascading, Veronica Lake-esque waves for a soft contrast.

The show slowly transitioned into the frillier and more traditionally feminine. There was brocade pajama dressing—in the style of YSL collector Nan Kempner—and flowing chiffon maxi skirts worn with massive bead necklaces that cemented boho-chic’s return.

And then the party girl appeared. There was a series of glittering brocade jackets, worn with high-neck lace tops and tiered silk miniskirts layered over yet more lace, all rendered in hot pink and orange. There were shining lurex minidresses, layered over more lace, that are sure to be a hit among the celebrity set. While most of the show was set to thumping club beats, the hushed finale ran over a lovely, plinking piano ballad (a cover of a One Republic song). All the better for the audience to appreciate a seminal collection.