Ludovic de Saint Sernin chose to explore his aristocratic heritage with his spring collection, digging into his family history — and self-doubts — with an emotionally charged lineup of feminine, romantic references.

At a preview, the designer said he had been inspired by his grandmother, who died two years ago, to explore historic references. “For my Gaultier couture show, I dedicated one of the looks to her, a beautiful white lace suit,” he said. “I’ve been reconnecting with her since her passing, she’s kind of been more present than ever.”

His family’s modesty meant he never came out to his grandmother, he said, which he regrets. “Part of my work since I started the brand was about my coming out story. But I’ve never associated it with my heritage and where I come from,” he said, something accentuated by taboos about being an aristocrat in France. “I wanted it to feel like a blend of what my own personal experience has been as a queer designer with what has come before me and what has led me to become who I am.”

De Saint Sernin said he wanted the collection to take “a more romantic, subtle and refined” direction with embroideries and trims, as well as cut and pattern. “It’s a collection that feels more feminine. It’s less openly sexual and dark than before,” the designer explained.

Signature lace, corsetry and lacing details were combined with fluid ivory silk, regal purple devoré velvet or liquid sequins, but there was nothing period about this edgy contemporary wardrobe. Slinky dresses covered the breasts but were otherwise transparent, while leather details came by way of wide belts, and cutout panels highlighted the body. There were also more tailored pieces in the lineup.

For his look book, he recruited friends of the house Emma Chamberlain, Alexa Chung, Sebastian Croft and Corey Fogelmanis, his evocation of a new nobility defined not by heritage, but by influence.