Clothing, shoes, bags, yes – but beyond that, anything goes. In essence, Vaccarello is expanding the definition of what a fashion brand is all about. You can come here to buy a beaded evening jacket or a €25 corkscrew. But perhaps Rive Droite pays its greatest homage to Saint Laurent by embracing a certain democratisation of fashion. Others are less so, like the metal stacking trays made in collaboration with the studio of Willy Rizzo, who photographed Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Cardin in 1965. Some are obvious, such as a book of his haute couture collections. The store contains numerous references to the house’s legendary founder. It shouldn’t become something sacred and untouchable.’ Saint Laurent was a very youthful brand in the 1960s and 1970s. ‘We already have younger customers, and the idea is to make products that are attractive for them. ‘I don’t want it to be a museum,’ Vaccarello emphasises. Customers are invited to browse and touch the wares. The hand-picked staff is welcoming, but also knowledgeable about the eclectic and ever-changing inventory, from primitive sculptures to gilded skateboards. Bottom, prestigious design galleries are supplying Rive Droite with vintage furniture to sell, including this Pierre Jeanneret sofa from Galerie Patrick Seguin. Top, as well as African masks and other artefacts, the boutique sells rare books.
Its interior is airy and light-filled, fitted out in black and white marble, concrete and glass.
Rive Droite is a reflection of its funkier, more accessible location, and its large glass windows invite passers-by to pop in, no matter the colour of their credit cards. ‘I wanted to show something else beyond the typical four collections per year.’ ‘I didn’t want to lose the spirit of curiosity that was at Colette, a place where people went to see what was new and happening,’ Vaccarello explains, seated in Saint Laurent’s magnificent new Left Bank HQ. The relationship was close: Colette’s final collaboration was with Saint Laurent, and it was the first store to carry Vaccarello’s own line, back in 2009. The new boutique sprang to life after iconic concept store Colette announced its closure after 20 years, giving Saint Laurent first dibs on its three-storey space on Rue Saint-Honoré. Naturally, this one is named Saint Laurent Rive Droite. Last spring, the brand’s current creative director, Anthony Vaccarello, unveiled another groundbreaking boutique on the Right Bank (with a sister store on Los Angeles’ Rodeo Drive opening the same day). The original Saint Laurent Rive Gauche boutique, opened on the Left Bank in 1966, was the first ready-to-wear store in a couturier’s own name. Saint Laurent has always been a revolutionary brand.