FASHION

Eternal YSL Muse Anja Rubik Wins Le Smoking Yet Again

From Hedi to Anthony, supermodel Anja Rubik will always be the posterchild of the Saint Laurent suit.


On Tuesday evening, supermodel Anja Rubik graced Elton John’s AIDS Foundation’s annual gala, a glitzy event that also included Jasmine Sanders, Rachel Hilbert, and Devon Windsor as guests. But amid all the models in the audience, Rubik stood out, upstaging both the other guests and, showing up the host himself, who was also in a suit — he wore a suit jacket with his name embroidered on the back and a snarling tiger face. Very Alessandro Michele. Not that it’s a competition or anything. But if it were, the timeless Saint Laurent muse would probably win.

Anja Rubik in Saint Laurent at the Elton John AIDS Foundation gala in New York, New York, November 2016.

Patrick McMullan via Getty Image

Who: Anja Rubik.

When: Tuesday, November 2.

Where: Elton John’s AIDS Foundation gala in New York, New York.

What: A black tuxedo — Saint Laurent’s classic le smoking, as interpreted by Anthony Vaccarello — with a waist belt detail and Repossi jewelry.

Anna Rubik was the quintessential Saint Laurent girl in the Hedi Slimane era, and she remains so now. The fashion house might have changed hands — indeed, Rubik appeared in Anthony Vaccarello’s Spring 2017 campaigns for Saint Laurent — but some things, like le smoking, remain constant. It’s a chic tailored look, a can’t-fail classic that’s gotten new life in the hands of a new generation of designers like Slimane, Vaccarello, and Bouchra Jarrar. It’s been a particularly popular pick for Rubik lately — she wore a different, equally edgy design to a Palais Galliera benefit back in July. But the one Rubik rocked at Elton John’s annual AIDS Foundation gala is an elevated interpretation: an accented waist design gives it a bit of an edge, its asymmetrical front an unusual take on an old staple. But while the women’s tux has a reputation for its androgynous look, worn shirtless, it’s undoubtedly classically feminine. Vaccarello’s mandate was to bring his trademark sexiness to the house of Yves, and so far he’s done so in no uncertain terms.