After-Hours Modern Style Guide
YSL Le Smoking + Tom Ford's Gucci
Le Smoking, the silk camisole, the slip skirt — the evening wardrobe Helmut Newton fixed in 1975.
After-Hours Modern is YSL's Le Smoking (1966), Newton's 'Rue Aubriot' (1975), and Tom Ford at Gucci F/W 1996.
- A black wool tuxedo blazer with satin lapel — Saint Laurent canonical cut
- A satin-stripe tuxedo trouser, slim at the ankle
- A black silk camisole worn alone or under the blazer
- A black satin midi slip skirt at the calf
- A pointed black heel above 80mm
- Colour — the palette holds in jet black with one ivory stop
- Sequin or lace — the archetype reads matte
- Soft tailoring — the satin lapel demands a structured shoulder
- Cocktail-dress silhouettes — the tuxedo cut is the only evening shape
What is After-Hours Modern style?
After-Hours Modern names the evening tuxedo wardrobe Yves Saint Laurent built for women in 1966 and the photographers and designers who maintained it for the next 60 years. The first piece is Le Smoking — YSL's F/W 1966 tuxedo introduced for women, sold initially as a controversy and eventually as the canonical evening cut. Helmut Newton's photograph 'Rue Aubriot' for the September 1975 French Vogue fixed the silhouette in cultural memory: model Vibeke Knudsen in Le Smoking, smoking, on a Paris street at night. Bianca Jagger's 1971 wedding-day cream YSL tuxedo extended the reading. Tom Ford's F/W 1996 Gucci show (the 'velvet hipster' collection) and his F/W 2002 YSL collection rebuilt the language for a new decade — the satin lapel sharper, the silk camisole shorter, the slip skirt newly load-bearing. Cathy Horyn's New York Times coverage of Ford at YSL is the canonical critical document. The archetype is more formal than Noir Editor (the day sheath is excluded), more architectural than Slip Romantic (the camisole has structure), and more historically rooted than any 2020s evening look. Contemporary maintainers in 2026: Saint Laurent under Anthony Vaccarello (2016 onward), Khaite's evening pieces, The Row's slip skirts.
After-Hours Modern is a 60-year project. Yves Saint Laurent introduced Le Smoking for women F/W 1966, and Helmut Newton's 'Rue Aubriot' photograph for the September 1975 French Vogue — model Vibeke Knudsen in the tuxedo on a Paris street at night — became the single most-cited image of the archetype. Bianca Jagger's 1971 cream YSL wedding tuxedo extended the language. Tom Ford rebuilt it twice: his F/W 1996 Gucci show (the velvet hipster collection) reset women's evening tailoring for the late 1990s, and his F/W 2002 YSL collection brought the language back to the source house. Cathy Horyn's New York Times coverage and Robin Givhan's Washington Post pieces both treat the Ford-at-YSL period as the canonical late-tenure document. Saint Laurent under Anthony Vaccarello supplies the contemporary cuts; Khaite and The Row supply the slip-skirt and camisole alternatives.
The shoulder holds the satin lapel; the camisole holds the line; the matte black holds everything else back.
Signature palette
The capsule
- Black wool tuxedo blazer with satin lapel — Saint Laurent under Anthony Vaccarello holds the canonical cut; vintage YSL or the Hedi Slimane era at Saint Laurent (2012–2016) deliver the parallel. Single button, satin shawl or peak lapel, structured shoulder above 8mm. The blazer is the spine of the wardrobe and the load-bearing piece. Skip notched lapels and skip soft shoulders.
- Satin-stripe tuxedo trouser, slim at the ankle — Heavy wool gabardine with a black satin stripe down the outseam, cigarette cut, hem hitting the ankle bone. Worn with the blazer for the full tuxedo or with the silk camisole alone. Saint Laurent's straight tuxedo trouser is the canonical reference. Skip wide-leg cuts and skip any stripe wider than 25mm.
- Black silk camisole — Heavy silk satin, slim strap, cut to the high hip — worn alone with the tuxedo trouser at the evening's start and tucked into the slip skirt at the dinner. The Row, Khaite, or vintage Calvin Klein 1990s all deliver. Skip lace trim and skip anything cropped above the navel.
- Black satin midi slip skirt at the calf — Bias-cut heavy silk satin, calf-length, no slit above the knee. Worn under the blazer for evening or alone with the camisole at the bar after. The Row's 'Bessie' is the contemporary reference; vintage Tom Ford for YSL F/W 2002 delivers the historic reading. Skip mini lengths and skip any satin under 19 momme weight.
- Pointed black leather pump above 80mm — Manolo Blahnik's 'BB' in black calf or Saint Laurent's 'Anja'. Calf leather, no patent, pointed toe, heel at 80mm or above. The pump is the evening anchor and the only acceptable footwear; trade-downs break the satin lapel's vertical line. Skip block heels and skip any visible platform.
- Single drop earring in brushed gold — One earring per side, drop length to the jawline, brushed (not polished) gold. Sophie Buhai or vintage estate jewellery. The earring is the only jewellery worn with the tuxedo; layering breaks the matte-on-matte reading. Skip studs (too quiet) and skip stacked chains.
- Black silk pocket square — Folded into the blazer's breast pocket — flat, not pointed. Heavy silk twill, black-on-black, no contrast border. The pocket square is the menswear quotation Le Smoking always carried; YSL's archive photographs show it across the 1966–1975 period. Skip white pocket squares (wrong register) and skip printed silks.
What to avoid
- Colour — palette is jet black with one ivory or champagne stop
- Sequin and lace — the matte register is the entire reading
- Notched lapels — satin shawl or peak only
- Cocktail-dress silhouettes — the tuxedo cut is the only shape
- Block heels or pumps under 80mm — the vertical line collapses
Frequently asked questions
After-Hours Modern is the evening tuxedo wardrobe Yves Saint Laurent introduced for women F/W 1966 (Le Smoking) plus Helmut Newton's 'Rue Aubriot' photograph for the September 1975 French Vogue and Tom Ford's tenures at Gucci (F/W 1996) and YSL (F/W 2002). The archetype is a black wool tuxedo blazer with a satin lapel, a satin-stripe tuxedo trouser, a black silk camisole, a black satin midi slip skirt, and a pointed black heel above 80mm.
Both archetypes hold black across every surface, but the silhouettes and registers differ. Noir Editor is the daytime sheath plus single-breasted blazer — the front-row uniform built for working through a 12-show day. After-Hours Modern is the tuxedo cut — satin lapel, satin-stripe trouser, silk camisole, slip skirt — built for the evening. The two cross over at the pointed pump and the black silk slip, but the satin lapel is exclusive to After-Hours Modern and the day sheath is exclusive to Noir Editor.
Yes. Saint Laurent under Anthony Vaccarello (2016 onward) has continuously updated the cut, and the Hedi Slimane era at Saint Laurent (2012–2016) reset the silhouette for the contemporary body. The canonical evening tuxedo at the current Saint Laurent house is closer in cut to Tom Ford's F/W 2002 YSL collection than to the 1966 original, but the satin lapel and the structured shoulder hold continuous. Vintage YSL from any decade reads as the source document.
Saint Laurent under Anthony Vaccarello for the tuxedo blazer and trouser, Khaite under Catherine Holstein for the silk camisole and the slip skirt, The Row for slip-skirt alternatives, Manolo Blahnik 'BB' or Saint Laurent 'Anja' for the pointed pump, Sophie Buhai for the drop earring. Vintage Tom Ford for YSL F/W 2002 or Tom Ford for Gucci F/W 1996 deliver the canonical archive pieces.
Helmut Newton's 'Rue Aubriot' photograph for the September 1975 French Vogue (Vibeke Knudsen in Le Smoking on a Paris street at night). Bianca Jagger's 1971 cream YSL wedding tuxedo. Tom Ford's F/W 2002 YSL runway photography. Cathy Horyn's New York Times coverage of Ford at YSL. The Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin holds the canonical 'Rue Aubriot' print.
