After a year spent surrounded by an equivalent four walls, Saint Laurent’s latest short may be a welcome taste of a special world. Saint Laurent unveiled Summer of ’21 on December 30, a fast film by Argentinian filmmaker Gaspar Noé and guided by brand creative director Anthony Vaccarello. It takes place in a large estate showcasing everything your 2020 was missing: trendy gold decors and Oscar nominated glamor Charlotte Rampling.
Summer 21 presents the looks of the Summer21 collection by Saint Laurent, created on December 15 in the desert of North Africa. The collaboration between Vaccarello and Noé follows the director’s debut at the 2019 Cannes festival Lux Aeterna. Its “red, hazy and velvety light” evokes the genre of Italian mystery thrillers mentioned as giallo, according to a handout . Placed on “I Feel Love” by Donna Summer played by SebastiAn, the film takes a look at the mysterious uncertainty that everyone has been feeling lately.
“A familiar and timeless feeling. Dream and tension, decadence and danger. The unsettling strangeness of these girls revolving around Charlotte Rampling, the mysterious and haunted priestess,” the statement promised.
Throughout the film, several models roam a strange mansion, including Anok Yai, Antonia Przedpelski, Assa Baradji, Aylah Mae Peterson, Charlotte Rampling, Clara Deshayes, Grace Hartzel, Kim Schell, Mica Arganaraz, Miriam Sanchez, Sora Choi and Stefania Cristian. They gather in a theatrical setting, staring at a stage that reveals none other than Rampling, star of movies like 45 and The Wings of the Dove.
“I wanted to specialise in the essence of things,” Vaccarello said within the Saint Laurent Summer21 collection handout . “I think it’s the times symbol, but I didn’t want anything dark or heavy.” Likewise, the Saint Laurent short ends with Rampling raising his arms during a moment of expression that feels like hope for the year ahead – whatever that sounds like.
