What will Saint Laurent look like after Anthony Vaccarello?
Why Vaccarello leaves a distinct Saint Laurent silhouette, and what Kering’s strategy may mean for daywear, menswear and leather goods
At Saint Laurent, Anthony Vaccarello kept sex appeal with sharp tailoring: strong shoulders, sheer dresses, and high heels appeared season after season, with the tuxedo never far away. Over ten years as the Kering-owned house’s creative director, he did more than occupy the role: he made Saint Laurent’s codes his own; the house, in turn, bore his unmistakable imprint.
After a final runway beneath the Eiffel Tower, lit by golden chandeliers, he leaves behind a silhouette distinctly his own. So, what will Saint Laurent look like after Anthony Vaccarello?
Why Did Anthony Vaccarello Leave Saint Laurent?
Fashion’s creative-director carousel spins rapidly, making Vaccarello’s decade at Saint Laurent feel like a lifetime. Recent departures underline this contrast: Veronica Leoni is leaving Calvin Klein Collection after two years, while Seán McGirr’s tenure at Alexander McQueen lasted three.
This relentless pace reflects the pressure on fashion houses to deliver immediate results: a single collection can mark both the beginning and end of a creative director’s tenure. Vaccarello, however, had time to refine Saint Laurent’s DNA and make his vision a defining part of the house’s identity.
Saint Laurent has not disclosed why he is stepping down, and Kering, its parent group, has not publicly linked his departure to the house’s financial results. After peaking at nearly €3.3 billion in 2022, Saint Laurent’s revenue declined in the following years, although Kering reported a return to growth in the first half of 2026.
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What Did Gold Mean at Anthony Vaccarello’s Final Saint Laurent Show?
Subtlety was not the brief for Saint Laurent’s SS27 show. On 29 September, the gardens of Paris’s Trocadéro became the brand’s stage, with the Eiffel Tower as a dramatic backdrop and enormous golden chandeliers overhead. Gold dominated the collection before the final looks turned to black, giving the show a cinematic finish.
The chandeliers echoed those at the Hôtel InterContinental’s Salon Impérial, where Yves Saint Laurent himself once presented his haute couture collections. This reference was a reminder that, even as Vaccarello pushed the house forward, he never completely abandoned its past. The New York Times called the show an “unofficial 24-karat farewell.” Charlotte Gainsbourg, one of Vaccarello’s longtime inspirations, closed the evening by performing a song dedicated to the fashion house.
Between the gold, the Parisian setting, and the emotional soundtrack, the entire event felt like a final scene crafted for the big screen. The show came ten days before the official announcement of Vaccarello’s departure: was it mere coincidence that the collection resembled a farewell? Nobody knows. But with rumours about his departure circulating for weeks, the timing certainly gave the show a different kind of energy.
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What Made Anthony Vaccarello’s Saint Laurent Style Distinctive?
When Vaccarello took over Saint Laurent in 2016, succeeding Hedi Slimane, expectations were enormous. This house’s history had shaped how generations dressed: Yves Saint Laurent transformed women’s wardrobes by blurring masculine and feminine codes, while Slimane had established a commercially successful, rock-inspired vision. Vaccarello needed to chart his own path between those legacies without imitating them.
Francesca Bellettini, then Saint Laurent’s chief executive, backed his appointment. Vaccarello later described the phone call offering him the job as almost religious: “For me, Saint Laurent is the biggest brand in the world. It’s like getting a call from God.” No pressure, then.
His early collections leaned into nightlife, provocative styling, and body-conscious silhouettes. Some critics felt the influence of his previous work at Versus, Versace’s edgier sister line, was still too obvious. Over time, however, he found his own rhythm, shaping a darker, sleeker and more sensual version of Saint Laurent.
His vocabulary was clear: transparent tops, razor-sharp suits, dramatic shoulders, lace skirts and high heels. Oversized jackets were cinched at the waist; classic tuxedos gained a sharper attitude; eveningwear prioritised confidence, control, and a hint of danger over traditional glamour.
The sexiness was never sweet, and the Vaccarello woman caught the eye without trying.
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Why Did Saint Laurent’s Sheer Looks and Runway Casting Draw Criticism?
That sensuality also drew criticism. The transparency of Vaccarello’s collections generated headlines, with some looks pushing the boundaries of what fashion publications were comfortable showing. In 2024, Vanessa Friedman joked in The New York Times that certain Saint Laurent photographs were too revealing for the paper she called “the family newspaper”. The provocation was part of the appeal but raised a persistent question: where does sensuality end and spectacle begin?
More sustained criticism focused on the models’ extreme thinness. As the industry increasingly discussed inclusivity, body diversity, and broader representation, the runway’s narrow ideal seemed to cling to outdated beauty standards.
Vaccarello’s collections were celebrated for their strong visual identity, but that identity existed within an industry still grappling with its creative and cultural responsibilities.
Even so, Vaccarello’s influence was hard to deny. He understood that a luxury brand needs more than beautiful clothes to stand out. It requires a mood, a point of view, and a world customers want to enter. Under his direction, Saint Laurent developed all three.
Why Did Anthony Vaccarello Stay at Saint Laurent for 10 Years?
In 2023, The New York Times Magazine explored how Anthony Vaccarello gradually made Saint Laurent his own. Long story short: his early commercial success gave him the time to stay and evolve.
Vaccarello did not need to reinvent the house each season: he could refine its language, repeat its strongest codes, and make them increasingly personal.
Seven years into the job, Vaccarello noted that people had only recently begun to understand his work—something he found unsettling. He suggested that fatherhood helped him develop a more unified vision, with each collection responding to a single message. That consistency became one of his biggest strengths: Saint Laurent’s sensuality grew more controlled, and its overall aesthetic more recognisable. By the end, it was difficult to imagine the house without his particular mix of restraint and provocation.
Anthony Vaccarello became the house’s longest-serving creative director since Yves Saint Laurent, who founded it in 1961 and continued to design its haute couture collections until his retirement in 2002. While the founder’s place in fashion history remains unparalleled, Vaccarello’s unusually long tenure speaks volumes. His challenge was never to become Yves Saint Laurent. As Pierre Bergé, the designer’s longtime partner and business collaborator, advised him shortly before his death: “Please do your own version of Saint Laurent; try never to copy him.” In many ways, that became a guiding principle of Vaccarello’s decade at the house.
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What Does Kering’s Strategy Mean for Saint Laurent After Vaccarello?
In April 2026, months before Vaccarello’s departure, Kering set out its ambition for Saint Laurent: a broader daywear wardrobe, a stronger menswear offering, more elevated leather goods, and greater reach in Asia. These categories were already part of the house’s offer under Anthony Vaccarello, but the plan signals an ambition to develop them further.
The strategy suggests a desire to reach customers through a wider wardrobe, including pieces for everyday wear alongside the dramatic looks that dominate runway coverage and fashion-week conversations. How that balance will take shape under the next creative director remains to be seen.
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Who Will Be Saint Laurent’s Next Creative Director?
No successor has been officially announced. Chemena Kamali, Chloé’s creative director, is one name circulating in industry speculation. She joined Saint Laurent’s women’s ready-to-wear design team in 2016 and moved to Chloé in 2023, so she knows the house from the inside. Her appointment could bring a more romantic sensibility to a brand whose identity has become closely tied to Vaccarello’s aesthetic. For now, though, the speculation remains just that.
Whoever takes the job will face a challenging task: preserving the attitude that makes Saint Laurent instantly recognisable while finding a new direction. Anthony Vaccarello made the house darker and sexier without erasing its history. He understood that the brand’s power lies in the tension between masculine tailoring and feminine sensuality, between enduring codes and provocation.
His final show was drenched in gold, but his true legacy is harder to replicate: an unmistakable point of view. His decade at Saint Laurent showed that longevity can still be a statement in fashion. The chandeliers may have dimmed, but the Vaccarello era will linger on mood boards for years to come.
Angelo Ruggeri
Journalist and Tutor for Styling, Business and Design Courses and Master’s Programmes, Milan
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