Saint Laurent showcases high-octane Eighties glamour alongside luxe boho smocks on a runway beneath the glittering Eiffel Tower

Kaia Gerber and Anja Rubik walked while Kate Moss and Lenny Kravitz sat front row
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Emma McCarthy27 September 2017

As guests took their seats at Saint Laurent's Paris Fashion Week show last night, they were greeted with the words of the house's late co-founder Pierre Berge, who died earlier this month at the age of 86.

"Maybe that's crazy love. The love of two madmen," read the notes written in French. Together with his partner Yves Saint Laurent, Berge was instrumental in shaping the brand into the global fashion super force it is today.

And in fitting tribute to its forefathers, current creative director Anthony Vaccarello delivered a showcase which was committed to safeguarding the label's future success.

As dusk fell and the outdoor show started - right on cue for the neighbouring Effiel Tower to begin its glittering nighttime display - eveningwear which fused the house's iconic signatures with the designer's breed of brazen sex appeal took centre stage.

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Power shoulder Le Smoking jackets, transparent chiffon blouses and decadent crystal-embroidered party dresses were offered up with more than a dash of high-octane Eighties glamour, and were presented alongside billowing luxe boho smocks and cobweb-crochet tops.

Keen to please the rock 'n' roll customer the brand has courted in more recent years (Courtney Love and Lenny Kravitz sat front row), Vaccarello's third collection for the label also included oversized leather jackets teamed with micro mini skirts and drainpipe-skinny trousers.

But without doubt the star attraction was a series of extravagantly sculptural cocktail dresses which provided the showcase with a suitably spectacular finale. Appearing on the catwalk in increasingly dramatic proportions, puffball bubble-hem confections crafted from volumes of taffeta and tulle gave way to LDBs with feathers sprouting from the collar or giant marabou sleeves.

Saint Laurent fans who swooned over last season's rhinestone-encrusted slouch boots have also found a new object of affection in a pair of full feathered over-the-knee boots which were unveiled on the catwalk last night in black, white and electric blue.

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Before joining Saint Laurent last year, the Italian-Belgian designer (below) was previously creative director at Versus Versace, as well as designing his own eponymous label. And in this short time, his recruitment has proven a shrewd business move.

AFP/Getty Images

In July, the Kering-owned brand - the second biggest in the French luxury group's portfolio - announced that sales were up by 28.5 per cent in the first half of this year.

The company also said the brand was expected to nearly double its revenue in the next three to five years.

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