If there’s one image that captures the mood of Paris in the ’70s, it might be this. Photographer Helmut Newton, living in Le Marais at the time, took to the streets at night — channelling the erotic energy of Brassaï’s 1920s photos. The result? Le Smoking, Yves Saint Laurent’s tuxedo for women, in moonlight. Model Vibeke Knudsen, slick-haired and unbothered, turns the sidewalk into a set. Shot for the September 1975 issue of French Vogue, the photo didn’t just document a look. It prefigured a shift. Something about to move.
In 1966, Yves Saint Laurent introduced the tuxedo to womenswear. Le Smoking had clean lines and satin lapels. This razor-sharp silhouette reframed femininity. But his haute couture clients weren’t ready yet. Only one piece sold. Across the river, however, the Rive Gauche crowd — younger, louder, freer — said yes. A version of the tuxedo jacket, later shown as part of the house’s ready-to-wear Rive Gauche line, became an instant bestseller.
Marlene Dietrich had done it earlier — both on and off-camera — often dressed in tailored suits borrowed from the menswear wardrobe. She wore tuxedos long before it was considered acceptable, turning masculine codes into something magnetic. But it was Yves Saint Laurent who made Le Smoking canon. He kept the tuxedo in every collection until 2002. Now, the house’s current creative director, Anthony Vaccarello, opens SS25 with his own version: lean, long, oversized, and so powerful.
Le Smoking over the years: SS2003, SS2020, SS2020 Saint Laurent Men, SS2022, SS2025. Image credits, see below.
“For a woman, Le Smoking is an indispensable garment with which she finds herself continually in fashion, because it is about style, not fashion.
Fashions come and go, but style is forever.”
— Yves Saint Laurent
The French designer didn’t just start a trend. He created a forever piece.
Le Smoking was once radical. Now it’s considered essential.
A real Le Smoking is still on my wishlist.
I own a few tuxedo pieces — tailored jackets, wide-leg trousers — but none by Saint Laurent. Yet.
What I do have is a vintage Saint Laurent woollen, double-breasted trench.
A classic in its own right — and one I’ll write about soon.
Image credits: Shoot Digital for Style.com, Filippo Fior / Gorunway.com, Alessandro Lucioni / Gorunway.com, Saint Laurent Men — photography by Daniele Oberrauch / Gorunway.com
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