The Saint Laurent Fall 2023 RTW collection was a taut, perfectly controlled vision of tailoring, riffing on the classic tailleur jupe, conjured out of menswear fabrics.

Creative Director Anthony Vaccarello’s look rested on exaggerated shoulders, cut into a classic men’s suit jacket, or smoking, or velvet blazer, over a lean skirt which finished just above the knee, a hemline that was a new length for him. These were worn with tanks as simple as cotton tees, killer patent slingbacks, weighty gilt bangles, and to a model, aviator shades; all very Helmut Newton. Sometimes the skirt was swapped for some cashmere leggings, and the jacket softened by the chiffon blouses with super-long trailing neckties trailing over the shoulders, or a shawl draped and pinned in place with more mega jewelry in the form of a gold brooch.

The jackets themselves were relatively light, and the soft knit pieces voided any notion of stiffness. That softer touch was evident too in the smattering of evening that Vaccarello offered; a gorgeous diaphanous black lace and velvet banded camisole with a black sheer skirt, or any one of the draped and wrapped tops.

Watch behind the scenes as celebrities attend the Saint Laurent Fall/Winter 2023 runway show on Paris.