Few things could warm the cockles of a Parisian heart touched by the death of YSL in 2009 and the biting wind in tonight's air. Stefano Pilati's plastic raincoats, austere monkish capelets and pops of colour sure did the trick.
The chilled VIPs enjoyed what is known in these parts as a fashion moment. After five years in his tenure as YSL's artistic director, Pilati knows how to create one of those. He hired LCD Soundsystem to play live within a custom-built mini venue inside the Grand Palais.
Plenty of clear PVC and sombre blacks and whites set the base for the sensible, demur, yet revealing collection. The occasional nipple revealed through a sheer blouse, a bright piece in solid colour and cute lady-shaped accessories delivered a touch of humour. Capes are also quite a playful item, and they featured throughout, much to the delight of cape fanciers like myself.
Unlike white-hot labels like Balenciaga or Balmian there's nothing cray cray at YSL, possibly because it has nothing to prove. It is the definitive label for those ladies with neater hair, straighter lipstick and better underwear than you could imagine. This collection for autumn/winter 2010/2011 quite simply reiterates that YSL is shorthand sexy Parisian chic.