Saint Laurent debuted in the Neue National galerie in Berlin.

A Saint Laurent fashion show is a big-ticket event on its own, but when that show takes place in an architectural gem designed by starchitect Mies van der Rohe, it ups the ante dramatically.

And up the ante is exactly what Saint Laurent did.

The fashion house’s SS ’24 menswear collection recently debuted in the Neue National galerie in Berlin.

Designed by Van der Rohe in 1986, the gallery recently underwent a renovation, managed by David Chipperfield Architects, and was unveiled along with Laurent’s latest designs to expectant audiences.

The restoration project took 11 years to complete and was described by the architectural firm as a “surgical restoration”, which saw them renovate the structure and modernise the building’s services.

The fashion show took place on the upper-level pavilion of the modernist masterpiece against a backdrop of stark concrete, glass and steel.

“Saint Laurent unveils its new collection in a modernist masterpiece, Berlin’s Neue Nationalgalerie, the last major project designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe,” said the fashion house.

“With its pared-down classicism and assured embrace of its time, the glass-and-steel temple for art feels as novel now as when it first opened, in 1968,” the brand added, noting that “the iconic pavilion is a fitting setting for Anthony Vaccarello’s ongoing reimagining of essential Saint Laurent themes with an attitude and ease suited to life today.”

Rows of Barcelona stools upholstered in black leather – another Van der Rohe signature design – flanked the “runway”, while heavy gray curtains blocked off a section of the open-plan space, highlighting the austere beauty of the interiors while directing the audience’s gaze towards the lower level sculpture garden.