Fashion Chronicles
Anthony Vaccarello Leaves Saint Laurent: What His Decade Built
Ten years, a gold finale at the Trocadéro and a house rebuilt. What the Vaccarello era leaves behind, and what it means for his pieces.
Anthony Vaccarello left Saint Laurent on 9 October 2026, after ten years as creative director. Kering confirmed the departure and named no successor, saying only that the house would announce new creative leadership shortly. His tenure now has a start and an end, which changes how his work reads. For a decade the Saint Laurent woman was drawn in sharp shoulders, black leather, sheer fabric and gold. Those pieces now belong to a decade with a closing date, which makes them easier to place and easier to collect.
Who Is Anthony Vaccarello, and Why Did He Leave Saint Laurent?
Vaccarello is a Belgian designer, born in Brussels in 1982, who took over Saint Laurent in April 2016. Kering announced his exit on 9 October 2026 and gave no reason beyond thanks. Cedric Charbit, President and CEO of Saint Laurent, thanked him for "ten years of dedication to the House".
He arrived with an unusual record for a house that size. He graduated from La Cambre in Brussels in 2006, launched his own label in Paris in January 2009 and won the ANDAM prize in 2011, then spent three years at Versace, from 2015 as creative director of Versus. He was 34 when he succeeded Hedi Slimane.
The exit lands inside a wider reshuffle at Kering under chief executive Luca de Meo. The company's statement credited Vaccarello with strengthening the desirability and influence of the house over the decade.
What Defined the Vaccarello Era at Saint Laurent?
Sharp shoulders, a reworked Le Smoking, sheer fabric, leopard, gold lamé and the Cassandre monogram. His first collection, spring/summer 2017, shown in September 2016, kept the black leather and transparency he inherited and pulled Yves Saint Laurent's own codes back to the centre of the house.
From spring/summer 2018 he staged the show at the Trocadéro, with the Eiffel Tower lit behind the runway. Paris became part of the picture, and the setting stayed with him for the rest of the decade.
In October 2017 he met Betty Catroux, Yves Saint Laurent's friend and muse, at the opening of the Musée Yves Saint Laurent in Marrakech. Her masculine-feminine wardrobe shaped much of what followed, above all the menswear: jackets worn against the skin, pussy-bow blouses, fluid trousers, asymmetric cuts.
February 2020 brought an autumn/winter collection dominated by red, shown days before the shows closed for the pandemic. Lace, vinyl and latex sat beside the tailoring.
He also widened the house past clothes. Saint Laurent Rive Droite opened in 2019 as a retail and cultural project spanning art, books, music and design. Saint Laurent Productions launched in 2023 as the first film arm of a couture house, starting with Pedro Almodóvar's short Strange Way of Life and going on to Jacques Audiard's Emilia Pérez, which took the Jury Prize at Cannes in 2024.
Which Saint Laurent Pieces Define His Decade?
The Loulou, the Le 5 à 7, the Icare and the Y tote. His bags follow the same rule as his tailoring: one clean line, hardware carrying the Cassandre, little else on the surface.
The Loulou arrived in 2017, quilted in a Y pattern with the monogram plaque at its centre, and became the first bag of his tenure to travel everywhere. The Le 5 à 7 followed in mid-2021, a slim shoulder bag with a curved underarm strap drawn from the 1970s, and it is the piece most people now picture when they picture his Saint Laurent.
The Icare maxi shopping bag came in spring 2022 and the Y tote in 2024. In 2026 he brought back the Mombasa, the horn-handled bag Tom Ford designed for the house in 2001, for its twenty-fifth anniversary.
The commercial record sits alongside the design one. Saint Laurent revenue was 1.22 billion euros in 2016. It passed 3 billion for the first time in 2022 and peaked at 3.3 billion, with recurring operating income above 1 billion euros and a 30.9% margin. Growth slowed after 2023 and revenue fell to 2.6 billion euros in 2025, before the house returned to growth in the first half of 2026.
What Happens Next at Saint Laurent?
No name has been made public. The announcement said new creative leadership would follow shortly, and as of this week the studio has no confirmed head. Reports have linked Chemena Kamali to the role. She has been creative director of Chloé since October 2023, with her debut collection in February 2024, and she was women's ready-to-wear design director at Saint Laurent from 2016, under Vaccarello.
Neither house has commented, so treat the reports as reports. Whoever takes the studio inherits a visual language the industry recognises at a glance. His final collection, spring/summer 2027, was shown at the Trocadéro on 29 September 2026, head to toe in gold, with the Eiffel Tower lit to match.
Attention moves first to the signature pieces of the outgoing era, then to the quieter ones beside them.
Does a Closed Era Make Pre-Owned Saint Laurent More Collectible?
A finished tenure gives collectors a frame. Pieces that were simply current become datable: this is Vaccarello, this is Slimane, this is Pilati, this is Tom Ford. Buyers who could not place a bag before can place it now.
The Brandsamsara team has handled Saint Laurent since 2007 and sees a familiar pattern each time a house changes hands. Attention moves first to the signature pieces of the outgoing era, then to the quieter ones beside them. Supply is the part worth watching: a Loulou or a Le 5 à 7 in strong condition, with its original hardware and even quilting, is harder to source than the numbers on any listing site suggest.
The checks themselves are simple. The Cassandre plaque should be crisply cast with even spacing and no softness at the edges. Quilting should line up across seams. Leather should keep its grain and its weight, zips should run without catching, and the interior stamping should match the production period. Every piece in Brandsamsara's pre-owned Saint Laurent edit is authenticated in-house and verified by professional authentication technology at the time it reaches the Athens showroom.
2016
April. Vaccarello succeeds Hedi Slimane. His first show, spring/summer 2017, follows in September.
2017
The Loulou arrives. In October he meets Betty Catroux at the opening of the Musée Yves Saint Laurent in Marrakech.
2019
Saint Laurent Rive Droite opens, a retail and cultural project spanning art, books, music and design.
2022
Revenue passes 3 billion euros for the first time and peaks at 3.3 billion.
2023
Saint Laurent Productions launches, the first film arm of a couture house.
2026
29 September, the gold spring/summer 2027 show at the Trocadéro. On 9 October the house confirms his departure.
Anthony Vaccarello and Saint Laurent: Questions Answered
Why did Anthony Vaccarello leave Saint Laurent?
Saint Laurent and Kering announced his departure on 9 October 2026, after ten years, without giving a reason. Both statements were thanks rather than explanation. The move came during a wider round of creative changes across Kering's houses under chief executive Luca de Meo.
Who is replacing Anthony Vaccarello at Saint Laurent?
Nobody has been confirmed. The house said new creative leadership would be announced shortly. Reports have linked Chemena Kamali, creative director of Chloé since October 2023 and previously women's ready-to-wear design director at Saint Laurent from 2016, to the role. Neither house has commented on those reports.
What is Anthony Vaccarello best known for at Saint Laurent?
Sharp eighties shoulders, a reworked Le Smoking tuxedo, sheer fabric, leopard print and gold lamé, built on the Cassandre monogram. He also staged a decade of shows at the Trocadéro beneath the Eiffel Tower, opened Saint Laurent Rive Droite in 2019 and launched Saint Laurent Productions in 2023.
Which bags did Anthony Vaccarello design for Saint Laurent?
The Loulou in 2017, the Le 5 à 7 in mid-2021, the Icare maxi shopping bag in spring 2022 and the Y tote in 2024. In 2026 he revived Tom Ford's Mombasa for its twenty-fifth anniversary. The Sac de Jour and the Muse belong to earlier eras of the house.
Is pre-owned Saint Laurent from the Vaccarello era worth buying?
A defined decade makes pieces easier to place, and clearly dated design tends to hold interest among collectors. Condition and verified authenticity decide the value of any single bag. Look for crisp Cassandre hardware, aligned quilting, supple leather and interior stamping that matches the production period.
Ten years of Saint Laurent have just closed, and the pieces that carried the decade are already in circulation. Brandsamsara's curated edit of pre-owned Saint Laurent, from the Loulou and the Le 5 à 7 to the house classics that came before them, is authenticated in-house and verified by professional authentication technology, so a defining era can be owned at a considered price. Explore pre-owned Saint Laurent.
Our Curated Edit
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