Anthony Vaccarello Is Leaving Saint Laurent

Skip to main contentDuring his decade at the French house, the designer reinvigorated the red-carpet suit.Photographed by Pierre-Ange Carlotti for GQ, 2022Nine days after staging Saint Laurent’s spring 2027 runway show in Paris, creative director Anthony Vaccarello is stepping down at the Kering-owned label after a decade at the helm.When Saint Laurent appointed Vaccarello in 2016, the Belgian designer had never made any men’s clothing, and he knew he was stepping into the big menswear-shaped shadow of Hedi Slimane, his predecessor at the brand.“I felt pressure starting men’s, because [Slimane] used to do men’s, and he used to do really good men’s,” Vaccarello told GQ in 2022. “That’s why it took me time to find my own language.” He held his first standalone men’s show in 2018: a ’70s New York-themed affair that ended with a host of shirtless models slathered in glittery silver body paint. But it wasn’t until 2022 that the designer truly turned up the volume, staging a high-drama runway on the sand in the Agafay desert, near Marrakech, where the late Yves Saint Laurent had lived and where his ashes were scattered.Celebrities and suits were hallmarks of Anthony Vaccarello's Saint Laurent. Seen here: Luka Sabbat, Mark Eydelshteyn, and Vassili Schneider at the menswear show in January. Christina FragkouIn the years since, Vaccarello’s menswear became a pillar of his work, and his moodily soft interpretation of the suit—and all its kinky accoutrements—took Hollywood by storm. His shows were routinely among the starriest at Fashion Week, and he amassed a collection of megawatt celebrity ambassadors including Austin Butler, Hailey Bieber, Zoë Kravitz, Rami Malek, and, as of this past January, at the zenith of Heated Rivalry mania, Connor Storrie, who starred in a viral commercial for the house over the summer. Just yesterday, the actor Alexander Skarsgård wore, to stupifying effect, a gold-foil suit and clear plastic dress shoes from Vaccarello’s final menswear collection.In tandem with announcing Vaccarello’s departure, the house said it plans to announce its new creative director soon.Sign up for Show Notes to get news on the latest runway shows, parties, and insider events on the international fashion circuit.Eileen Cartter is the style editor at GQ, where she writes and edits stories about fashion and trends, fame and celebrity, and other cultural phenomena. Previously, she was the social & culture editor at Garage magazine. She is based in NYC. ... Read More