Saint Laurent stages its SS22 men’s show inside an artwork to honour Anthony Vaccarello’s triumphant return to fashion.
Saint Laurent’s Spring/Summer 2022 Men’s collection features a large-scale installation by artist Doug Aitken, unveiled by Creative Director Anthony Vaccarello. Green Lens, a living art installation and cultural stage commissioned by Vaccarello, interacts with the cityscape of Venezia, Italy.
Speaking on his artwork, Aitken said,
“Green Lens is a living artwork. It is both an artwork, installation and stage. It’s like a lighthouse, that one can journey to and have a very personal experience, while it also transmits light, ideas and questions. A focal point that allows all of us to share our ideas and visions for the future post-COVID…a celebration and inquiry into the future.”
Source: Hypebeast
The crystalline reflecting exterior of the structural artwork hides a kaleidoscopic vista and rich botanic surroundings. Located on the island of Isola Della Certosa, clouds, mist, and untamed green foliage add to the mix of lush reflections within, which mirror the terrain, sky, and changing surroundings.
Italy’s Most Romantic and Picturesque City
The work opens with an eco-narrative that delves into the concept of a future world. The setting for Saint Laurent’s SS22 runway is Venice, Italy’s most romantic and idyllic city. Its mirrored maze was designed by genre-defying artist Doug Aitken for Saint Laurent as part of the Venice Biennale of Architecture 2021.
The massive, refractive prism is located along the Venice canal system on a private, walled-off island. On July 14, this mirrored structure becomes the location of the Parisian luxury label’s SS22 men’s presentation. The borders of this are lined with botanical greens and Aitken describes the installation as,
“a living artwork… a celebration and inquiry into the future”
Source: Dazed
A New Type of Romanticism
The SS22 collection aesthetically shifts between the Renaissance and millennial goth periods.
The apparel embodies a new kind of romanticism, set in a future that is faintly utopian.
“Saint Laurent’s cult iconography always combined creative disciplines across art and fashion. Through those collaborations I want to merge different fields’ artistic visions in a unique artwork,” said Anthony Vaccarello.”
Source: Hypebeast
Vaccarello combed through the archives of Yves Saint Laurent in preparation for this men’s collection. The designer incorporates lace shirts and slip vests from prior seasons into the season’s looks, giving this menswear collection a delicate edge. Vaccarello utilises match sets from Saint Laurent’s women’s 1979 and 1978 collections. Also, early 1970s jacquard crepe de chine blouses and cut toreador jackets and Spencers from the Picasso (1979) and Jazz (Spring 1978) designs. Romantic Baroque shirts, Tudor boots, cigarette pants, lace shirts, and velvet bombers are among the items in the resultant menswear collection. In a nod to Yves Saint Laurent’s risqué dressing gowns, models are shown with couture capes wrapping around their bodies.
A Full Spectrum Art Experience
Green Lens is open to the public until the end of July, in accordance with the Biennale of Architecture. Musicians, performers and dancers will interpret futuristic themes via a series of performances. These are the presentations that raise questions about our future, contributing to the full spectrum arts experience which encompasses Saint Laurent SS22 Menswear.
Take a peek at the entire collection below:
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