SAINT LAURENT’S NEW FILM IS A MIX OF PLEASURE AND DANGER

“Summer of ‘21” is the title of the captivating eight-minute film conceived by Saint Laurent creative director Anthony Vaccarello and directed by Gaspar Noé. Inspired by Italian thrillers from the Seventies, it stars Charlotte Rampling decked out in florals and marabou feathers, interpreting an enigmatic hostess in a beautiful mansion. Tributing the first Saint Laurent Rive Gauche boutiques of the Sixties, the interiors are lacquered in red and ornately decorated with sumptuous velvets, brocades and gilded gold frames.
The reel starts with a model running through a woods at night, screaming in terror to Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” hit, remixed by French musician Sebastian. She enters the house to find a gaggle of models, including Anok Yai, Grace Hartzel, Mica Argañaraz, Sora Choi and DJ Clara Deshayes, lounging around or stretched out on red sofas dressed in body-hugging black pieces from the new collection. Sharp belted blazers over biker shorts, sweeping feather-trimmed gauzy gowns countered by floral silk mini dresses with strong shoulders or crisp leather jackets, mostly in black. All exquisitely decked out and almost in a trance, the girls head to a lavish concert hall with gilded ceilings. The curtain rises to reveal Rampling in the spotlight.