“Naked but Not Vulgar”: Mel Ottenberg and Dara Debrief Saint Laurent FW26

Mel just landed in Paris, and we’re headed to the Saint Laurent show at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. There’s a full moon, which Mel says means something really crazy but he can’t remember exactly what because the flashing bulbs started and we got distracted by all the celebrities. Time to terrorize famous people! Mog us! Glamour! Diva! François Arnaud walked in looking very handsome in his nylon trench, ultra chic. Then we stood at the door like a welcome committee waiting for who else might arrive. Aidan Zamiri and Rish Shah. It’s a The Moment reunion. Charlotte Gainsbourg rushed past and we didn’t get any face time but we worship nonetheless. Gabbriette in a slit up to there, what a sight. Nadia Lee Cohen, the only girl serving the head-to-toe leather from last season and the only girl who can. Who’s that girl pumping down the walkway in a light green silk nighty? Oh, it’s the gorgeous Petra Collins. Wait, pop’s next big thing, Adéla, is serving us butch queen. We couldn’t stop gagging over Eva Herzigova. Finally, Rosé shut it down and we got to our seats. After the show, we caught up in the car on the way back to the hotel to debrief on all that new Saint Laurent.

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MEL OTTENBERG: First of all, I just want to say I haven’t been to a fashion show in a month. I had a lot of fun with you, terrorizing famous people. This is one of Anthony’s better shows in a while because the suits look really good.

DARA: Yeah, they were really nicely cut, sharp, long, sexy.

OTTENBERG: They look like an investment piece. You should buy one of those suits.

DARA: And you’ll look good in it forever, like Betty Catroux.

OTTENBERG: He’s been doing repetition for a while. This is the best use of repetition that I’ve seen from him because all of the suits looked really powerful. Every time the suit came back, it felt like such a good idea for this exact moment of 2026, right?

DARA: Yeah.

OTTENBERG: And the really sexy lace dresses were great because they’re very naked but not vulgar, somehow.

DARA: Yeah, I love the way they frame the neck when the lace trim is around the bust. And they were all kind of latex-y. They looked like they were dipped in something.

OTTENBERG: Well, there were latex trenches. There was a sort of this Yves Saint Laurent Belle de Jour thing going on. I liked the weird funky fur.

DARA: The furs were so big and weird and voluminous. The drop waist on them was kind of surprising because there was the sort of chubby fur that was familiar. And then there’s the bubble skirt version. It had a thirties quality.

OTTENBERG: And it probably has a really specific eighties Yves Saint Laurent reference or something. 

DARA: Wait, what’s the Barbara song you were talking about earlier?

OTTENBERG: Oh, it was this Barbara Streisand song, “Prisoner (Love Theme from Eyes of Laura Mars). Have you seen Eyes of Laura Mars?

DARA: Oh, yes. Incredible. The makeup was quite Eyes of Laura Mars.

OTTENBERG: You’re right. There’s like a seventies disco fantasy thing going on a la Sandy Linter. 

DARA: Faye Dunaway could tear it up in some of those clothes.

OTTENBERG: Maybe it was about a New York late seventies cosmopolitan woman.