Irish transplant, honorary Swede, and regular Vogue Scandinavia contributor Verona Farrell spent four seasons filming guests outside Saint Laurent. This time she followed them in, to a gold-drenched runway, a surprise serenade from Charlotte Gainsbourg, and a rumour that it could be Anthony Vaccarello's last show
As I waited for the Saint Laurent show to begin, I got chatting to the person beside me and, after some introductions, mentioned that it was my first. “Maybe your first and last,” he responded. I gawked at him for a second, and then quickly replayed our conversation up until that point. What stupid thing had I said? My efforts in masking my nerves had clearly fallen short. Was the stench of my first-timer status so obvious? In all fairness, it’s difficult to enter a room with Post Malone and Hailey bloody Bieber and feel like you belong.
“I hope it’s not my last!” I responded with a theatrical grimace. He looked confused, and after registering my comment assured me, “Oh god no, that’s not what I meant. I was talking about Anthony Vaccarello - that it might be his last season with Saint Laurent.” “Ah! Of course,” I said, as if I was also in on this information. (I was not).
I had technically been to many Saint Laurent shows before. The word technically is important here. For the past four seasons, I’ve been stationed at the VIP entrance to capture guests as they arrive. My job is to video the guests from the time they get out of their car (one leg first, usually long), pose for paparazzi, or attempt to dodge them, until the moment they glide up the stairs and disappear inside the venue.
Verona Farrell ahead of Saint Laurent's SS27 runway show. Photo: Verona Farrell