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Saint Laurent AW16 – Slimane ditches grunge and goes for glamour

Lauretta Roberts
11 February 2016

Saint Laurent creative director Hedi Slimane never has been one for convention and this season he broke the rules again by showing the revered Parisian house's collection not in the French capital during Fashion Week, but at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles to co-incide with the Grammy Music Awards.

But perhaps to placate the traditionalists, in what many are speculating is his swan song season, Slimane will be showing Part 2 of his AW16 offering for women in Paris next month. Traditionalists will no doubt too be pleased to see he has ditched the grunge in favour of all-out glamour.

This show had a distinctly slicker and more mature feel to it than SS16, which was all slip dresses, tiaras and wellie boots designed to appeal the summer music festival market. Here, for women, midi-skirts and dresses and culottes (lots of culottes) were the key looks made from an array of luxurious fabrics including velvet, metallics, sequins and leather all cinched at the waist with thick belts and paired with highly desirable boots (one of Saint Laurent's staples).

Prints were typical Saint Laurent with animal print (a particularly pretty peacock print dress was stand-out) and stars featuring as they always do, as well as a charming musical note print (fitting in the context of the event), which was taken from the archive. Some said the musical notes were a tribute to the late David Bowie, whose influence is expected to be felt particularly strongly across the catwalk this season. But then Bowie has always been a major presence on the catwalks of the fashion capitals in both men's and women's shows.

For the men Slimane kept the silhouette slim, but not skin tight, with a nice three-piece riff on the famous Saint Laurent tux, as well as dark jeans paired with leather jackets, cropped military jackets, velvet bombers and blazers and fur coats. Slim pointed boots completed the look.

Speculation remains rife that Slimane is about to bow out at Saint Laurent, if so he has done so in some style.

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