Wilted black calla lilies, anemones, and orchids covered the walls of the runway entrance, backlit by a giant reflective YSL logo mounted that appeared to be the only light source in Saint Laurent’s secret Men’s Fall/Winter 2024 show. An instrumental version of Phil Collins’s “In The Air Tonight” played as the warm glow from behind the gold-mirrored monogram expanded, revealing soft-looking flooring the same color as the lilies. If the soundtrack and chenille carpeting weren’t enough of a hint, this season’s Saint Laurent man was ripped straight from the ’80s.

Creative Director Anthony Vacarello’s collection was based on the boxy wide-leggedness of suits 40 years ago, rather than the cigarette-skinny silhouettes that had come to define Saint Laurent. The first look was a le smoking suit retrofitted with shoulder pads and a let-out hem, whose floor-grazing trouser legs and two-button jacket were a fresh choice. Later ensembles featured Martha Graham-esque modern dancer caps rendered in an array of neutrals, which perfectly matched the cocoon and peacoats they were styled with. Eyewear was also prominent on the circular runway of the Bourse de Commerce’s concrete rotunda, a teaser for perhaps a robust mens optical collection for the fall.

What made the Saint Laurent suit so iconic was its specificity (always black, always slender); what makes Vacarello great is both his dedication to riff on a theme, and the skill to tailor it perfectly.