Saint Laurent, change at the creative helm: Anthony Vaccarello steps down
After weeks of speculation, the mid-term change at the helm of the historic brand owned by Kering has been confirmed; thanks to Vaccarello, who is leaving after 10 years, it had become the group’s second most important brand
The glittering fashion show for the SS 2027 collection, set against the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower, was a sumptuous farewell: after 10 years at the creative helm, Anthony Vaccarello is leaving Saint Laurent, confirming weeks of speculation. Vaccarello’s departure – born in Brussels 44 years ago to Italian parents – is in line with the process of redefining the Kering Group’s brands, in accordance with the ‘Reconkering’ strategy presented by CEO Luca de Meo, who took up his post a year ago, on 16 April in Florence: a strategy aimed at revitalising the group, which is undergoing a profound crisis, driven primarily by falling sales at Gucci, its most important brand.
Before joining Saint Laurent, Vaccarello had spent a year as creative director of Versus, Versace’s secondary line, a brand that was discontinued in 2018. During many of the years under his creative leadership, with the support of Saint Laurent’s then CEO, Francesca Bellettini (now CEO of Gucci and deputy CEO of the group), the brand founded by Yves Saint Laurent achieved double-digit growth, tripling its sales: whilst in 2016, the year Vaccarello joined, turnover stood at 1.22 billion euros, by 2022 it had reached 3.30 billion.
In 2025, against a backdrop of a 13 per cent fall in revenue for the Pinault family’s group, Saint Laurent also saw its sales fall by 8 per cent to 2.64 billion euros.
Beyond the catwalks, Vaccarello was keen to extend his creative vision to the world of cinema: in 2023, Saint Laurent Productions was founded, which has produced, amongst others, the films *Father Mother Sister Brother* by Jim Jarmusch, winner of the Golden Lion at Venice in 2025, Paolo Sorrentino’s “Parthenope” and Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Perez”, for which Vaccarello also designed the costumes.
In recent weeks, Kering had made further appointments: Sabina Belli, formerly CEO of Pomellato, is now the new chair of Kering Italia, whilst Charlotte Fournet is CEO of Pomellato and Kritzia Cucurachi is CEO of DoDo.
