Saint Laurent S/S 2026 Paris

[fruitdots]

Well personally for me, I tend to stay away from those are a little too reliant on the iconography of it because a lot of gays treat it as the be all and end all of “queer/gay art”. It’s an easy go to but also bit of a cop out. Expand artistic horizons I say.

No hate to the artist himself, just to those that can’t tear themselves away from it as their sole artistic reference. Akin to those that obsess over “call me by your name” and similar novels. There’s more to queer artistry, literature and philosophy than the obvious creative consumables.

There's also a bit of a racial conundrum. He drew Nazis, and did so because he found them sexy (while disavowing the politics). But even though he personally disavowed Nazism, there's fascism amongst some of his followers. The now former head of his foundation, Durk Dehner, had to resign earlier this year after photos of him wearing Nazi regalia started circulating. And more generally, that vibe is sometimes present when you're dealing with fans of Tom of Finland. They can be the sort of gay man who isn't necessarily going to be openly racist, but who has strong "preferences."

 

[andrew]

granted i'm not gay (at least yet anyway, i might give up in my 60s or somethin), but the circle of friends I have who are leather-scene involved or adjacent have a lot of unpleasant experiences with the kind of folks who hew super hard into the tof aesthetic... one can only role play as a retro white guy masc 50s biker/fascist military officer for so long before you start absorbing the other side of it.

 

[donyan]

It’s a great show but feels unconvincing as a collection to me, too rooted in the past. Was Saint Laurent ever nostalgic?

 

[xodaphne]

It’s a great show but feels unconvincing as a collection to me, too rooted in the past. Was Saint Laurent ever nostalgic?

Yves was possibly the most nostalgic designer of the 20th century.
This collection was a miss for other reasons…