Francois Arnaud paid tribute to Saint Laurent creative director Anthony Vaccarello by wearing one of his designs to the WWD Honors event on Tuesday.
Arnaud was recently named a Saint Laurent brand ambassador, while news of Vaccarello’s departure from the fashion house emerged two weeks ago. The actor chose an oversized suit created by the designer for the occasion.
Speaking about the outfit, Arnaud told WWD: “I mean this is very high-brow. There’s nothing low-brow about Anthony’s work.”
He described Vaccarello as “a master”, praising the designer’s decade at Saint Laurent for combining elegance with a rock ’n’ roll quality.
“As you know, this last collection was his swan song at Saint Laurent and I think he is just a master,” Arnaud said. “His ten years there were a perfectly masterful blend of elegance but also a rock and roll quality, and that’s kind of what I like about his designs. We just threw this on and it felt like a great fit.”
Arnaud admitted that he did not know what had inspired the suit, but said he had immediately taken to it.
“I don’t know what inspired it, actually,” he said. “You’ll have to ask Anthony. But I love it, it was an immediate crush.”
Arnaud is due to return for the second season of Heated Rivalry. He will also appear in the comedy film Old Friends New Friends, written and directed by Mike Birbiglia.
Next year, he is set to make his Broadway debut in a new production of Three Days of Rain.
