Anthony Vaccarello Is The New Designer At Saint Laurent

As of last Friday, news broke that Hedi Slimane was officially leaving Saint Laurent, leaving us to wonder what was next for the French design house. As rumors immediately started swirling that Versus Versace Creative Director, Anthony Vaccarello would succeed Slimane, Versace announced this morning that the Belgian designer would be departing the Italian label effective immediately.

In a statement, Donatella Versace said, “While I’m sad to see him leave the Versace family, I wish Anthony Vaccarello tremendous success with his next chapter. In the past several years, I have worked with three great young talents on Versus Versace: Christopher Kane, J.W.Anderson and Anthony Vaccarello. In each instance, their time on Versus Versace led to them making a huge advancement in their design career.”

Known for a similarly edgy aesthetic through his namesake label and Versus designs alike, Vaccarello seemed like a shoo-in for the rebel-chic vibes established by Slimane as news broke almost immediately following Versace’s announcement that the designer would indeed take over at YSL.

In a joint statement by Yves Saint Laurent and Kering, Francesca Bellettini, President and CEO of Yves Saint Laurent said: “I am extremely happy to have Anthony Vaccarello take the creative helm of Yves Saint Laurent. His modern, pure aesthetic is the perfect fit for the maison. He is the natural choice to express the essence of Yves Saint Laurent. I am enthusiastic about embarking on a new era with Anthony Vaccarello, and together bringing the maison further success.”

While it seems that a few years at a house is the new designer norm, Vaccarello managed to grow the Versus label significantly during his short tenure. We’re sure the newly appointed Creative Director will see similar success after stepping into the Saint Laurent limelight.