In a development that had been widely anticipated across the global fashion community, Saint Laurent and its star creative director, Anthony Vaccarello, are officially parting ways. The Paris fashion house revealed the Belgian designer’s departure in a brief statement on Friday morning, acknowledging that he played a pivotal role in the brand’s modern development. According to the maison, Vaccarello helped to significantly strengthen its distinct identity and cultural influence across the worlds of fashion, film, and the arts, adding that the company would soon unveil its new creative leadership.
The announcement arrives immediately on the heels of a Paris Fashion Week dominated by intense industry speculation that the 44-year-old designer would bring his acclaimed 10-year tenure to a close. His all-gold spring 2027 ready-to-wear show—staged beneath three monumental chandeliers and directly in the shadow of a twinkling Eiffel Tower—felt unmistakably like a triumphant swan song, whether it was officially acknowledged as such at the time or not.
Chemena Kamali, who currently serves as the creative director of Chloé, is widely expected to succeed Vaccarello at the helm of Saint Laurent. Kamali is far from a stranger to the Parisian house; she previously served as its women’s ready-to-wear design director under Vaccarello from 2016 until 2023, when she departed to take the top creative job at Chloé.
A Decade of Transformation and High Desirability
“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Anthony for his contribution to Saint Laurent over the past 10 years,” said Luca de Meo, chief executive officer of Kering since September 2025, in the official release. “Through his creative vision and exacting standards, he has contributed to strengthening the enduring influence of one of France’s greatest couture houses, as we embark on a new chapter in its history.”
Cédric Charbit, president and chief executive officer of Saint Laurent, also warmly thanked Vaccarello for his steadfast dedication to the house throughout his decade-long leadership.
“During his tenure, Anthony took Saint Laurent on a remarkable trajectory, elevating the house to the forefront of desirability and image, while accomplishing exceptional work both creatively and through his cultural impact,” Charbit added.
The prospect of a Vaccarello exit was initially viewed with a degree of skepticism by many fashion insiders, given the Belgian designer’s massive and devoted fan base, alongside numerous indicators of their fruitful collaboration. The house orchestrated a host of high-profile magazine covers and comprehensive editorial features throughout the year tied directly to Vaccarello’s tenth anniversary at the brand. Furthermore, the label was on the cusp of releasing a slick, 90-minute documentary exploring the designer’s winning approach and creative process, produced by Terminal 9 Studios.
The Lyst Index, a widely watched quarterly ranking of fashion’s hottest brands and products online, had consistently placed Saint Laurent within its top five positions for the past ten consecutive quarters. Adding to his industry accolades, Vaccarello is slated to receive the International Designer of the Year trophy at the 2026 CFDA Fashion Awards in New York City, and he is nominated for Designer of the Year at the upcoming British Fashion Council’s Fashion Awards in London.
Financial Resilience and Commercial Standing
Kering, the luxury conglomerate that also owns Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Brioni, McQueen, and several prestigious jewelry houses, no longer breaks down annual revenues by brand with the exception of Gucci. However, the group noted that Saint Laurent officially returned to growth during the first half of 2026.
“The house delivered a solid performance in North America and in Western Europe and benefitted from strong client demand, as the new collections continued to gain traction,” the parent company stated in July. At comparable exchange rates, annual revenues at Saint Laurent slipped 6 percent in 2025 to 2.64 billion euros, which nevertheless compared favorably to a steeper 19 percent drop experienced by Gucci during the same period.
A designer naturally drawn to the hot-blooded, daring, and provocative side of fashion, Brussels-born Vaccarello studied sculpture at La Cambre. He first broke onto the international radar in 2006 when he won first place at the Hyères International Festival of Fashion and Photography for a collection heavily inspired by Italian adult film star La Cicciolina. He subsequently gained valuable experience working at Fendi before launching his own namesake collection in Paris in 2009. Two years later, he captured the prestigious ANDAM fashion award, and in 2013, he was recruited by Donatella Versace to reinvigorate and modernize the Versus brand.
A Formidable Showman on the Paris Runway
Once he settled into his role at Saint Laurent, Vaccarello quickly established himself as one of Paris Fashion Week’s most formidable and ambitious showmen. He regularly erected breathtaking, gob-smacking sets at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, installing a monumental waterfall one season and a giant hedge of hydrangeas shaped into the house’s iconic Cassandra logo the next.
His aesthetic consistently evoked the core essence of Saint Laurent through strong-shouldered tailoring, meaty leather jackets, faux furs, bold and saturated colors, wispy cocktail dresses, hulking costume jewelry, and killer heels. He typically concentrated each runway presentation on a distinct silhouette or a juicy, evocative slice of brand lore.
Unusual for a modern French megabrand, Vaccarello almost never featured handbags prominently on the catwalk—allowing for perhaps a simple wallet at most—even though the commercial business sold massive quantities of iconic styles like the Sac de Jour, Icare, Amalia, and 5 à 7 models. Demonstrating strategic foresight behind the scenes, WWD broke the news that the brand quietly recruited Johnny Coca, one of the luxury accessories industry’s most prominent and accomplished handbag designers, who previously honed his craft at Louis Vuitton, Celine, and Mulberry.
Expanding Cultural Horizons
Vaccarello maintained an iron grip on Saint Laurent’s visual image—notably decreeing that brand party photographs should always be rendered strictly in black and white—while simultaneously widening its broader cultural affiliations. Most dramatically, this was achieved through the establishment of Saint Laurent Productions in 2023, a division dedicated to producing short and feature-length films by renowned auteurs such as Jim Jarmusch, Pedro Almodóvar, and Jacques Audiard. In its brief operational lifespan, the production company has already accumulated multiple international awards for critically acclaimed works including Emilia Pérez and Father Mother Sister Brother.
Alongside cinema, Vaccarello established Saint Laurent Editions, an imprint specializing in fine art books, fanzines, and photography, complete with a dedicated retail and gallery space dubbed Saint Laurent Babylone on the Left Bank of Paris. His extensive personal and professional inner circle included cultural icons such as Madonna, actress Zoë Kravitz, model and collaborator Kate Moss, singer Rosé, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and legendary figures from the original era of Yves Saint Laurent, including Catherine Deneuve and Betty Catroux.
While primarily celebrated for his revolutionary womenswear, Vaccarello also devoted increased energy to Saint Laurent menswear in recent years. He staged intimate, atmospheric menswear shows at the Pinault family’s Bourse de Commerce art museum, drawing direct inspiration from the founder’s signature personal style as well as elements from his own womenswear collections.
Considered one of the absolute holy grails of Parisian fashion, Saint Laurent derives its historic prestige and enduring fame from a visionary founder who once held such a tight grip on global culture that a minor adjustment to a hemline or a subtle shift in a waistline would send ripples across the international fashion landscape. Yves Saint Laurent is widely credited as the true inventor of luxury ready-to-wear through the 1966 launch of his Rive Gauche collection, becoming permanently celebrated for beatnik fashions, safari jackets, the landmark Ballets Russes collection, an unparalleled command of color, and the successful expansion into designer denim and signature cosmetics.
Looking forward, Kering plans to aggressively build upon the robust commercial and cultural foundation left behind by Vaccarello, identifying significant market potential to further expand the brand’s daywear, menswear, and fine jewelry offerings. At the group’s Capital Markets Day in Florence, de Meo told financial analysts that the overarching goal for the next chapter is to reawaken and reinvigorate brand icons, transforming them into timeless products that transcend fleeting fashion cycles. Additionally, Saint Laurent has set clear strategic targets to double its sales to Very Important Clients by 2030, while simultaneously doubling its overall business footprint across Asia within the exact same timeframe.
