On Oct. 9, the fashion house announced that Anthony Vaccarello would be stepping away from his role as creative director, a position he had held for close to ten years.

Among the figures who appeared regularly in Vaccarello's orbit were Zoë Kravitz, Zoë Saldaña, Hailey Bieber, Blackpink's Rosé, Chloë Sevigny, Madonna, and Kaia Gerber — a constellation of established names whose ties to the designer proved enduring. Vaccarello's plans to create the wedding gown for Kravitz's marriage to Harry Styles remain intact, though his departure means the finished dress will not carry the Saint Laurent label.

Over the years, Vaccarello drew on bomber jackets, androgynous tuxedos, punky ballgowns, knee-length lace skirts, and sky-high heels as the raw material from which his collections shaped what audiences wore next.

Revenue at Saint Laurent crossed the $3.3 billion threshold in 2023, after which the brand's annual figures began to contract. Revenue at Saint Laurent contracted by 9 percent across 2024 and by a further 6 percent the following year, a trajectory shaped by weaker purchasing appetite in Asia alongside a broader shift in consumer preference away from Vaccarello's guitar-driven visual language and reflective textiles.

Reports of a rift between Vaccarello and Saint Laurent chief executive Cédric Charbit had been circulating. During his time leading Balenciaga — a label operating under the Kering group alongside sister brands — Charbit worked with designer Demna on footwear and accessories that went on to attract wide commercial attention.

Vaccarello's direction turned out to differ from what many had anticipated — the collection moved toward pieces such as Plexiglass footwear carrying a $4,200 price tag rather than the more conventional route observers had assumed he would take. His approach at the time mirrored the same fixed creative direction that Slimane had maintained before him, with Vaccarello showing no inclination to alter it. Considerable funding went into the effort, with no plans to scale it back.

Reporting from one outlet portrayed Vaccarello as a designer whose work reflects personal conviction rather than responsiveness to the democratising currents running through contemporary fashion, paired with a public presence that tends toward restraint.

Dressed in a gold ensemble taken straight from the runway, Skarsgård made his entrance at the event.

The house of Saint Laurent has indicated that a decision on the next creative director is drawing near. At Gucci, Balenciaga, and Bottega Veneta — three of Kering's flagship houses — the creative director position has turned over in each case. Matthieu Blazy at Chanel and Michael Rider at Celine have each stepped into the creative director role, marking a shift in artistic direction at both houses.