YSL SPRING SUMMER 26/27

On the evening of September 29, 2026, Anthony Vaccarello brings the Maison to the Trocadéro, beneath the Eiffel Tower, to celebrate his tenth anniversary as Creative Director. Yet more than the monumental Parisian architecture, one element dominates the scene: gold. 

Gold in the collection, gold on the runway, gold in the large chandeliers suspended above the audience, and gold in the glow of the Eiffel Tower itself. The result is an almost monochromatic environment, in which the boundaries between set design, lighting, and fashion become deliberately blurred. 

The Trocadéro as a Theatre 

The show takes place outdoors, in front of the Trocadéro fountain, with the Eiffel Tower as its backdrop. The choice is particularly significant because it does not attempt to compete with the monument through an oversized set. Instead, the project appears to establish a direct relationship with what is already there. At the centre, a raised runway is installed, while three large golden chandeliers are suspended above it. Their presence immediately introduces both a domestic and historical reference: they are not simply lighting fixtures, but evoke the grandeur of a ballroom. The set thus becomes a kind of open-air salon. The Eiffel Tower remains visible beyond the perimeter of the set, while the chandeliers create a second, lower and more artificial architectural layer. Between the two, a visual hierarchy emerges: the tower provides the monumental backdrop, while the chandeliers define the space of the performance. 

An Imagined Interior Outdoors 

One of the most compelling aspects of the project lies precisely in this contradiction. The fashion show physically takes place outdoors, yet the set introduces elements traditionally associated with an opulent interior. 

The reference is the Salon Impérial at the Hôtel InterContinental, where Yves Saint Laurent presented his haute couture collections beginning in 1976. For Vaccarello's anniversary, that salon is symbolically recreated outdoors, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. 

Gold as a Scenic Material 

The colour of the collection simultaneously becomes the colour of the set. 

The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode describes the show as a true “golden parade”, highlighting the many interpretations of gold: brocades, lamé, metallic surfaces and liquid-looking materials. Yet gold remains far from confined to the garments. The set amplifies it through the reflective surfaces of the chandeliers and runway. Rather than using colour as a simple accent, Vaccarello pushes it towards an almost immersive dimension. The set is perceived as a single chromatic field. This becomes particularly evident under the night lighting: the golden surfaces reflect the light, creating shifts in intensity rather than merely variations in colour. 

Gold therefore becomes a question of light as well. 

Light as Material 

In a project of this kind, lighting design cannot be considered separately from the set design. Gold works precisely because it is a material that reacts to light. A golden surface can appear matte, warm, metallic or almost liquid depending on the angle and intensity of the illumination. The project exploits this quality to prevent the monochrome environment from becoming static. The runway is not simply “yellow” or “golden”; it continuously changes in response to the light sources and the movement of the bodies. Behind the runway stands the Eiffel Tower. The result is a vertical composition, with the runway at the bottom, the models, spectators and chandeliers at the centre, and the Eiffel Tower rising in the background. Light connects these three levels. 

Black as an Interruption 

For this very reason, the finale takes on a particularly striking visual significance. 

After a sequence dominated by gold, ten black silhouettes appear, wearing voluminous, draped garments. The palette is abruptly interrupted. From a scenographic perspective, black functions almost like a chromatic blackout. After creating a space that is almost entirely golden, the presence of black restores depth and contrast. It is a simple yet highly effective device: the final colour allows the viewer to perceive, in retrospect, just how pervasive the gold had been throughout the preceding sequences. At that point, the light does not necessarily need to change dramatically. It is enough for the material receiving the light to change. 

An Image Built Through Light 

The strength of the Saint Laurent set therefore lies not simply in the amount of gold used. It lies in the decision to make colour, material, light and architecture converge. The gold of the collection reflects the gold of the set. The set interacts with the light. The light transforms the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower gives the runway a sense of vertical depth. Every element belongs to the same visual system. The result is a set that functions almost like a temporary light installation: a vast golden surface suspended between the permanent monumentality of Paris and the ephemeral nature of fashion. Beneath the Eiffel Tower, Saint Laurent does not simply construct a runway. It creates an imagined interior in the open air, where the chandelier becomes architecture, light becomes material, and gold becomes the space itself. 

Credits: 

Creative Direction: Anthony Vaccarello 

Set Design: Bureau Betak 

Production: Bureau Betak