Tailored Expositions: Yves Saint Laurent’s FW26 is what we all want

Designed by Anthony Vaccarello, the Yves Saint Laurent Fall/Winter 2026 Collection was subtly ostentatious. The creative director took inspiration from James Baldwin’s novel Giovanni’s Room, specifically from the moment one leaves their lover’s apartment, right after putting on one’s clothes as if wearing an armor. Might he be referring to leaving the lover’s room when it is a love sanctuary, or when it becomes a claustrophobic cage? Might Vaccarello be referring to the armor with which you dress right after leaving a lover in pursuit of a fake, heteronormative marriage? That’s never to be known. Perhaps he is using Baldwin’s second novel as the philosophical armor of a very gorgeous, psychologically empty assortment.

 People do that. They dress their lack of depth in aesthetically pleasing words, which is how we end up with people saying Paris, Texas is their favorite movie, or that Romero Britto is a great artist.

 In any case, the scarves throughout are a triumph. The collection could not be prettier. The broad-shouldered blazer with cinched waistlines makes the male silhouette into an hourglass shape that is tantalizingly sensitive and masculine, all at once. A subtle reminder that curves, when done well, fit phenomenally in men’s fashion. Anchored by high leather boots, the intentionally crumpled, very wide-legged trousers contrast in texture with the soft, long, and shimmering trench coats.

 Reintroducing lovely smoking jackets, boldly going all in for scarves and cravats, and bravely incorporating knitted scoop-necks and tight chiffon tops, the collection may lack philosophical depth, but it does not lack sensuality, beauty, and character. Yes, this is to be suited and booted.