Top secret previews have been taking place this week for selected buyers from elite retailers of the first pieces to emerge from the atelier of Hedi Slimane at YSL, now Saint Laurent Paris. Although there are no photos, no sketches, not even a swatch of fabric or even a thread - such is the anticipation for the collection that the impressions of an anonymous buyer are circulating. Not since has there been such crackling expectation on a designer.

What can we expect? According to WWD there’ll be; ‘sharp tailoring in fine pinstripes; short dresses with light padding at the shoulders; lots of silky, girly tops; cigarette trousers, skinny jeans and hotpants, and iconic styles such as tuxedos and silk crepe tie-neck blouses. “It feels very YSL, but in a modern way,” the retailer said. “Hedi has a vision. It’s so directional.”

'Colours ran from black, white and gray to fuchsia and red. There were also animal prints on blouses, as well as sequins and silver and gold lamé fabrics.
Bags were described as modern and cleaned up; shoes as sexier and more aggressive, often with pointy toes. While best-selling styles including the Tribute remain, others resemble the one captured in a famous Helmut Newton photograph: a pump whose sweeping upper digs into the Achilles tendon. Leather goods come in nude and black, but also metallic and patent leather in vivid colors like yellow, fuchsia and Yves Klein blue.'

As was the case with Tom Ford’s first womenswear collection after leaving Gucci – the lack of images does nothing to dampen the anticipation of the fashion pack as the fashion excitement builds to a crescendo.