Introduction
Anthony Vaccarello is a Belgian-Italian designer born in Brussels in 1982. He studied at La Cambre, won the Hyères fashion prize in 2006 and worked in fur design at Fendi before establishing his own label. His eponymous work and later Versus Versace tenure developed a language of abbreviated dresses, exposed skin, sharp asymmetry and graphic hardware.
Vaccarello was appointed Creative Director of Saint Laurent in April 2016. His first public output was a portrait series released in June, followed by the Spring–Summer 2017 runway in September. He placed his own label on hold that August and concentrated on a house-wide Saint Laurent mandate spanning women’s and men’s ready-to-wear, campaigns, accessories, retail concepts and cultural programmes.
Under his direction, Saint Laurent launched Rive Droite and SELF in 2019, reorganised its presentation calendar in 2020, established Saint Laurent Productions in 2023 and introduced fine jewellery the same year. His menswear has moved through destination shows, films and architectural Paris settings, while his film credits remain title-specific across production, executive production and costume-artistic roles.
Design ethos
Vaccarello works through a direct tension between severe structure and exposure. Extended shoulders, narrow waists, long vertical lines, micro lengths, transparent surfaces and high boots turn the body into a controlled graphic figure. Black remains an organising field, interrupted by dense colour, metallic hardware, leather and occasional saturated floral environments.
His Saint Laurent work uses the founder archive as a repertoire of stance and proportion. Smoking, safari, bourgeois eveningwear and 1980s shoulders are enlarged, stripped back or isolated rather than reproduced literally. Menswear and womenswear increasingly share the same elongated line, with drape and volume used to offset the harder geometry.
Image and setting are integral to the design process. Collier Schorr’s photography, monumental Paris runways and environments by Doug Aitken, Es Devlin and Fujiko Nakaya frame the clothes through scale, reflection, landscape and atmosphere. The result is a highly controlled house image whose consistency extends from garments to film, jewellery, publishing and retail.
Disclaimer
Career history
2023
Saint Laurent launched a registered film-production subsidiary in 2023 under Vaccarello’s creative direction. Its credits vary by title across production, co-production, executive production and association, while costume authorship remains specific to each film.
2016
Vaccarello was appointed Creative Director in the 3–4 April 2016 publication sequence, with immediate effect. His active mandate covers women’s and men’s ready-to-wear, accessories, campaigns, retail concepts and the house’s expanding film and cultural programmes.
2016
On 30 August 2016 Vaccarello confirmed that his women’s ready-to-wear label had been placed on hold so he could focus exclusively on Saint Laurent. The public wording supports suspension rather than a proven legal dissolution.
2015
Versus appointed Vaccarello permanent Creative Director on 21 January 2015, extending his responsibility across its collections. The house announced his departure on 4 April 2016 immediately before the Saint Laurent succession, but the two appointments remained legally separate.
2015
Anthony Vaccarello became Creative Director of Versus in January 2015 with a women’s and men’s remit after a 2014 guest project. He left on 4 April 2016.
2013
Vaccarello worked with Versus as an independent consultant before receiving the permanent creative-director title. A Vaccarello-designed collection presented in New York on 7 September 2014 provides the secure public anchor for this phase.
2013
Vaccarello signed on as Versus Versace’s next capsule-collection designer in December 2013 and presented his first project in New York on 8 September 2014. This guest and consultant phase preceded his permanent division appointment in January 2015.
2011
After entering the official Paris Fashion Week calendar in March 2011, Vaccarello won the ANDAM Fashion Award in July with a €200,000 grant supporting the development of his eponymous label.
2009
Vaccarello’s eponymous label became publicly active in 2009, following a five-look presentation reported that January. He placed the business on hold in August 2016 after joining Saint Laurent; no evidence establishes a legal closure or transfer.
2008
Vaccarello founded his Paris-based eponymous label in 2008. Its first women’s collection appeared in January 2009, and regular Paris Fashion Week presentations began in March 2011. He placed the label on hold on 30 August 2016 to concentrate on Saint Laurent.
2006
After graduating from La Cambre, Vaccarello spent approximately two years working in Fendi’s fur department. The broad period and function are supported, while his formal title, contract dates and object-level credits remain unresolved.
2006
Following the 2006 Hyères Grand Prix, Vaccarello joined Fendi during Karl Lagerfeld’s tenure and spent approximately two years specialising in fur design. No more exact public appointment title or effective dates were recovered.
2006
Vaccarello graduated with distinction from La Cambre in 2006 and presented his all-leather graduation collection at the Hyères International Festival, where it won the Grand Prix. The recognition led directly to his Fendi role.
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