Saint Laurent Parts Ways With Designer Vaccarello After a Decade

One of the longest designer reigns in modern luxury is over. Kering confirmed on October 9 that Anthony Vaccarello is stepping down as creative director of the Paris house after a decade, as reported by Reuters, with a successor to be announced soon. The exit closes a chapter that turned Saint Laurent into a global powerhouse — and kicks off the most-watched succession race in fashion right now.

The announcement landed just ten days after Vaccarello staged his apparent farewell: a Spring/Summer 2027 show at the Trocadéro, directly across from a lit-up Eiffel Tower, where 49 looks in shades of gold closed under giant chandeliers before ten black looks ended the night. Charlotte Gainsbourg sang live from the runway, and the industry spent the following week reading every detail as a goodbye. Now it is official — and the fashion world is already placing bets on who gets the keys to one of the most recognizable brands on the planet.

Saint Laurent's decade of gold

Vaccarello arrived at Saint Laurent in 2016 to succeed Hedi Slimane, inheriting a house that had already been reshaped into a sharp, youth-driven machine. Rather than tearing it down, he refined it. Broad shoulders, elongated silhouettes, sheer fabrics and sculptural eveningwear became his recurring signatures, presented through cinematic runway productions that made the Eiffel Tower a seasonal co-star. As The Impression noted in its retrospective of the tenure, he worked within Slimane's framework at first, then gradually developed a more sensual and sophisticated expression of the Saint Laurent woman.

The numbers tell the story of why he lasted so long. During Vaccarello's tenure, annual revenue nearly tripled, reaching a peak of more than three billion euros, according to The Impression's account of the Kering filings. That run depended heavily on Chinese demand and the aspirational image his campaigns projected across leather goods, footwear and ready-to-wear — even as the runways themselves rarely showed the handbags that paid the bills.

He also pushed Saint Laurent beyond the runway. In 2023, Vaccarello launched Saint Laurent Productions, turning the fashion house into an active film producer. Its credits include the Cannes-winning Emilia Pérez, according to Reuters, deepening a relationship between the fashion house and cinema that stretches back to the founder's era. For a generation that discovers fashion through screens, the move made the label as much a content brand as a clothing one.

Why the exit is happening now

The departure comes as Kering's new chief executive, Luca de Meo, pushes to overhaul the luxury group after years of decline. Kering's shares are down by about a third this year, and the company reports third-quarter sales on October 22, as reported by Reuters. But the company has told analysts the decision was driven by Saint Laurent's longer-term prospects and was unrelated to recent financial performance, according to a Barclays note cited in fashion coverage of the exit.

The context is fashion's great game of musical chairs. The house is the last major Kering brand to switch creative leadership after a luxury slowdown prompted designer changes last year at Gucci, Balenciaga and Bottega Veneta. The industry has spent two years swapping designers faster than seasons change — and the revolving door has turned every appointment into a referendum on where luxury goes next.

In a statement, de Meo expressed "sincere gratitude to Anthony for his contribution to Saint Laurent over the past ten years," while Saint Laurent chief executive Cédric Charbit said Vaccarello had "taken Saint Laurent on a remarkable trajectory, elevating the House to the forefront of desirability and image," as reported by Haute Living. Warm words, but the message underneath is clear: the next decade will not look like the last one.

Who takes over at Saint Laurent next

One name dominates the speculation. Chemena Kamali, who has been creative director of Chloé since her appointment in 2023, is widely tipped to succeed Vaccarello, according to WWD, Reuters and Wallpaper. Neither Saint Laurent nor Chloé has confirmed anything. But the case for Kamali is strong: she spent seven years at Saint Laurent as women's ready-to-wear design director under Vaccarello, from 2016 until she left for Chloé in 2023, and her tenure at Chloé has been widely regarded as a success. If the reports prove right, it would be a homecoming — and, as W magazine noted, she would be the first woman to lead the house's creative direction.

Whoever gets the job inherits a demanding brief. Barclays analysts expect the new designer to focus on under-represented product categories — women's daywear, menswear, high-end leather goods — and less penetrated regions such as China and the rest of Asia, as reported by Reuters. Kering wants the brand to more than double menswear sales and triple jewelry sales by 2030. That is a pivot away from Vaccarello's eveningwear-and-runway-spectacle era toward the everyday categories where the money actually sits.

Vaccarello himself has not issued a personal statement about the exit, and W, citing Puck, reported that he has no job lined up. But he hinted at his philosophy in a 2024 interview: "The only thing you can do is to start something completely different," he told TheWrap, as quoted in the fashion press. Whatever he chooses, he leaves the label's codes sharper than he found them — a tough act for anyone to follow.

What it means for fashion right now

For anyone who follows style through TikTok edits and front-row photos, this is the plot twist of the season. The era when one designer could own a house's aesthetic for a full decade is ending across the industry, replaced by a churn that treats creative directors like sports coaches. The risk is sameness: when every major house is in transition at once, the distinct visual languages that made brands recognizable start to blur.

The timing adds one more layer of drama. Vaccarello is set to receive the International Designer of the Year award at the CFDA Fashion Awards in New York on November 2 and is nominated for Designer of the Year at the Fashion Awards in London on November 30, according to WWD. He will walk onto those stages as fashion's most prominent free agent.

Explore more fashion coverage on the fashion topic page, and read about the golden finale show that started the farewell speculation weeks before the official announcement.