After a decade at Saint Laurent, Anthony Vaccarello is leaving. To say goodbye, we’ve put together a look back at some of his most memorable work for the Paris house. In recent years, the designer has grown increasingly drawn to film—in 2023 he founded Saint Laurent Productions—which aligns with his approach to history and heritage at the brand. Vaccarello was never about blind reverence, but about relevance; a kind of ideological deconstruction that may stem from his Belgian training. As Nathan Heller noted in a 2025 Vogue profile, the designer’s goal was “to make Saint Laurent bigger than fashion.”
Of Sicilian heritage, Vaccarello was born in Brussels, where he studied fashion after a few years training to be a lawyer. He won the 2006 Hyères prize and went to work at Fendi; later he joined Donatella Versace at Versus, where he was named creative director in 2015. At the same time, Vaccarello was designing his own line, launched in 2008, known for surgically precise cuts that showed off the body in bold ways. Though revealing, his take on naked dressing was teasingly suggestive rather than explicitly bare. “It’s always black, always sexy,” he said in 2011.
Five years later, Vaccarello, still relatively unknown, was handed the keys to a house that defined the look of liberated women—not only through smokings and the like, but through ready-to-wear. “Saint Laurent covered so many things that it’s easy to take something you find interesting and make it contemporary,” Vaccarello told Vogue. “For Saint Laurent, it was never something flashy—it was always real clothes with a good twist, defined by the person who wears it and the attitude.”
Vaccarello’s approach to heritage has been laser-focused. His “modus operandi,” as Mark Holgate noted in a 2018 profile, “has been to take one specific dress—say, 1982’s black velvet puffed-shoulder dress, which he rendered super-short for spring 2017—and use that as a springboard.” That singular focus projected a sureness of vision that kept Saint Laurent and its heritage in the spotlight. Vaccarello’s legacy is more than a dramatic shoulder, a leg reveal, or the kink of latex; rather, it is his understanding that fashion’s relevance comes from its connection to something larger than itself.
“Everything you see today is linked to what [Yves Saint Laurent] did: There’s danger, there’s the bourgeoisie, there’s showing-not-showing, masculinity-femininity,” he said. “For me, there’s Chanel and Saint Laurent. It’s culture. It’s le patrimoine français.”
Main character energy never interested Vaccarello. Like a director, he was more interested in the bigger picture.
Doja Cat in a Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello suit with commanding shoulders.
Photographed by Willy Vanderperre, Vogue, April 2026
Sora Choi wears an LBD from Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello.
Photographed by Daniel Jackson, Vogue, March 2020
Teyana Taylor wears a lace-edged crinoline dress from Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello.
Photographed by Daniel Jackson, Vogue, September 2025
Kendall Jenner lights up the lobby of the Chrysler Building in a rhinestone-studded mini dress and cone-heeled boots from Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello.
Photographed by Theo Wenner, Vogue, July 2017
“The magic of the business is creating desire.”
Anthony Vaccarello
Anthony Vaccarello in the Saint Laurent atelier.
Photographed by Craig McDean, Vogue, March 2018
“That’s the duality I love at Saint Laurent, the idea of being very sexual but always a cold sexuality: You think you can have her, but you cannot have her.”
Anthony Vaccarello
Anok Yai wears a fluffy coat and a clinging bodysuit and skirt accented with a belt from Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello.
Photographed by Mikael Jansson, Vogue, August 2024
Rosalía is a picture of romance in a rose red ruffled dress from Saint Laurent by AnthonRihanna wears a Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello coat at The Ritz Paris. Photographed by Annie Leibovitz, Vogue, May 2022.
Guinevere Van Seenus wears a Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello dress and sandals. Photographed by Steven Klein, Vogue, January 2018.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge wears a one-sleeve off-the-shoulder evening dress from Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello. Photographed by Ethan James Green, Vogue, December 2019.
Margot Robbie wears Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello. Photographed by Ethan James Green, Vogue, Summer 2023.
Selena Gomez wears a Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello dress. Photographed by Nadine Ijewere, Vogue, April 2021.
Adut Akech adapts a Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello menswear look (blouse, pants, necklace) to suit herself. Photographed by Jackie Nickerson, Vogue, September 2019.
Mika Schneider wears a Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello jacket, bodysuit, jeans, jewelry, and belts. Photographed by Angelo Pennetta, Vogue, December 2021.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge in Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello. Photographed by Mikael Jansson, Vogue, December 2017.
Gigi Hadid in a reinvented smoking. Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello jacket, vest, shorts, and bag with Bella Hadid. Photographed by Daniel Jackson, Vogue, March 2020.
Dua Lipa looking sharp in a Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello dress. Photographed by Letty Schmiterlow, Vogue, September 2019.
To the point: A Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello slingback stiletto. Photographed by Andrew Jacobs, Vogue, March 2025.
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs The Best of Anthony Vaccarellos Saint Laurent in Vogue
Beginner Questions
What is The Best of Anthony Vaccarellos Saint Laurent in Vogue
Its a curated look at the most memorable Saint Laurent collections campaigns and editorials designed by Anthony Vaccarello that have appeared in Vogue magazine
Who is Anthony Vaccarello
A BelgianItalian fashion designer He became creative director of Saint Laurent in 2016 succeeding Hedi Slimane
When did Vaccarello start at Saint Laurent
He was appointed in April 2016 and showed his first collection for the house that October
Why is his work in Vogue such a big deal
Vogue is one of the most influential fashion magazines in the world A designers presence in its pages signals major industry recognition and shapes what people wear
What kind of style is Vaccarello known for at Saint Laurent
Sharp tailoring strong shoulders short hemlines lots of black leather and a glamorous slightly rebellious Parisian rockchic attitude
Intermediate Questions
What are some of Vaccarellos most iconic Vogue moments
His debut Spring 2017 show the sheer and sequin party dresses of recent years and campaigns shot by photographers like Juergen Teller and David Sims
How does Vaccarellos Saint Laurent differ from Hedi Slimanes
Slimane leaned into LA grunge and indie rock Vaccarello kept the youthfulness but added more sexiness sculptural silhouettes and a return to Yves Saint Laurents heritage codes
Which Vogue editions cover his work most
Vogue Paris American Vogue and Vogue Italia feature his collections and campaigns most frequently
Who are some muses or ambassadors tied to his Vogue features
Models like Anja Rubik and Kaia Gerber and ambassadors such as Rosé of BLACKPINK and Hailey Bieber
What makes his collections so photogenic in editorials
Highcontrast silhouettes dramatic shoulders and statement pieces photograph beautifully and read clearly on a magazine page
Advanced Questions
How does Vaccarello use Vogue as a branding tool
He pairs