Just a few days after it was announced that Yves Saint Laurent creative director Hedi Slimane confirmed he was leaving, the company announced that designer Anthony Vaccarello would be taking over as creative director.
Before Vaccarello transitions to designing for YSL, the Belgian-born 36-year-old was the creative director at Versus Versace. His first breakthrough in the fashion world came in the fall of 2011 while doing a two-year stint at Fendi before he left for Versace.
"While I'm sad to see him leave the Versace family, I wish Anthony Vaccarello tremendous success with his next chapter," Donatella Versace said in a statement.
Vaccarello will immediately start working for YSL and his first collection for the brand will be spring/summer 2017, which will show this October during Paris Fashion Week.
"Mr. Saint Laurent is a legendary figure for his creativity, style and audacity," Vaccarello said. "I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the history of this extraordinary house."
In addition to working for some of the biggest names in the fashion industry, Vaccarello also founded his own brand back in 2009, but will no longer work on the line so he could "devote himself fully to Saint Laurent." He will be in charge of the women's wear, men's wear and the couture line, which was resurrected by the previous creative director, Slimane. Unlike his predecessor, who based the brand out of Los Angles, Vaccarello will take YSL back to Paris where he is based.
"I am extremely happy to have Anthony Vaccarello take the creative helm of Yves Saint Laurent," added Francesca Bellettini, president and chief executive officer of YSL. "His modern, pure aesthetic is the perfect fit for the maison. Anthony Vaccarello impeccably balances elements of provocative femininity and sharp masculinity in his silhouettes. 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."
"I am very proud to welcome such a vivid and young force among today's creative fashion talents to Yves Saint Laurent," added François-Henri Pinault, chairman and CEO of Kering, the company that owns YSL. "Anthony Vaccarello's unique style will greatly express the maison's creative signature and fashion authority, building on the brand's solid foundations, and further developing it to realise its full potential."
