October 9, 2026 |
Anthony Vaccarello has brought his golden decade at Saint Laurent to a close.
Announced today, the Belgian-Italian designer is stepping down as creative director of the French house, bringing his 10-year tenure at its helm to a close.
Vaccarello was appointed to the role in April 2016, succeeding Hedi Slimane, and presented his first collection for the house later that year during Paris Fashion Week.
The announcement follows Vaccarello’s SS27 collection, presented in Paris on September 29. Steeped in symbolism, Vaccarello chose a set design inspired by the Grand Salon Imperial Ballroom inside the Hotel Inter-Continental, where the house’s founder used to stage his couture shows. Following the show, he came out on stage to take his final bow before giving a key – seemingly representing the keys to the house – to his son, who was watching from the side.
In the collection itself, all that glitters was gold. Vaccarello dipped the whole house in it, decade by decade – Monsieur Saint Laurent’s sahariennes, trenches, blouses and wrap skirts handed over to Vaccarello’s strong-shouldered coats, big blousons and sharp little suits – in lamé, gilded organza, brocade and gold-leafed cotton, until a trio of nimbus-cloud black gowns finally turned out the lights.
If the collection played like a decade in miniature, the emotion in the room matched the occasion. Charlotte Gainsbourg closed the show with a live performance, and as Vaccarello took his final bow, Anja Rubik – a muse of his across these ten years – looked visibly moved, close to tears. After years spent reshaping the house in his own image, it was a fittingly tender end to a show that had cast the whole house in gold.
Over the past 10 years, Vaccarello has shaped a distinct chapter of Saint Laurent’s history. His vision was one built on tension – between masculine and feminine, restraint and seduction, the sharpness of tailoring and the fluidity of the body. Broad shoulders, sheer fabrics, razor-sharp suiting and impossibly high heels became recurring signatures, each collection refining a silhouette that was unmistakably his own.
Rather than rewriting the house codes entirely, Vaccarello returned repeatedly to the foundations laid by Yves Saint Laurent, filtering them through a darker, more nocturnal lens. The tuxedo, the safari jacket and the idea of masculine dressing for women were continually reworked, while his shows became exercises in atmosphere as much as fashion.
The shows were spectacles in their own right, often backdropped by the Eiffel Tower. AW20 saw models illuminated by single spotlights and dressed in a mix of latex separates and ready-to-wear, while AW22 was rendered almost entirely in black and white, establishing the sinuous, languid silhouette that would become a signature of Vaccarello’s Saint Laurent.
His influence extended beyond the runway. During his tenure, Saint Laurent expanded its cultural footprint across art, music and film, launching Saint Laurent Productions in 2023. Envisioned by Vaccarello, the production arm has worked with famed directors including Pedro Almodóvar, David Cronenberg and Paolo Sorrentino.
Vaccarello’s departure brings an end to one of the longer creative director tenures in contemporary luxury fashion – particularly during a period of near-constant movement at the top of the industry.
It is yet to be announced what Vaccarello will do next, or who will replace him at the house. For now, his departure closes a decade defined by a singular proposition: Saint Laurent, sharpened to a point.
Photography courtesy of Saint Laurent.
