The post-Slimane era

Wheter you loved or hated him, it doesn't matter now: Hedi Slimane left Saint Laurent permanently. During his four years as Creative Director of the brand, Slimane has revolutionised not only the storied French House, but also the fashion industry (for me, he did it before Gosha Rubchinskiy and Demna Gvasalia), with harsh criticism and burst of enthusiasm.

The designer has, in fact, angered a lot of Saint Laurent fans, but, above all, he has gained new, young followers. However, the debate about Hedi Slimane has nothing to do with us now.

What counts now is Saint Laurent's future. In fact, its Creative Direction has been handed to Anthony Vaccarello, fashion designer famous for his iper-sensual cut-out dresses who gained a line of celebs in a short time. All fashion insiders' eyes are now on him, who will show his first collection for Sain Laurent nex September during Paris Fashion Week, revealing the new image of the House.

But who is Anthony Vaccarello?

Born in 1982, Anthony Vaccarello was born in Belgium from Italian parents, from Sicily precisely. His first memory related to fashion is the Versace show he watched at his granparents's home when he was 5. That show must have impressed him deeply, because Vaccarello's aesthetic (sexy, elegant clothes, but never trashy) is very similar to that of Versace.

Randomness or fate have decided to combine the designer's future exactly with the Italian brand. In fact, after having worked for Fendi and Lanvin, and after launching his namesake brand in 2011, Donatella Versace handed him the Creative Direction of her second line Versus in 2013. Until a few weeks ago, when he was called to take the reins at Saint Laurent. 

Hedi Slimane's heritage

So, what Hedi Slimane hands down to Anthony Vaccarello is a honour, but also a big responsibility. Because the designer, during four years, has not only managed the creative side of the maison, he has also built a personal style-mark.

Hedi Slimane has changed the French Maison at his own image, but that was to be expected, considering he is a charming, ecletic person with a strong, personal idea about fashion. That the designer would have revolutionised the brand's image was clear since he decided to remove “Yves” from the company name, leaving only “Saint Laurent”. That was just the beninning of the future revolution that influenced the Maison (see also the relocation of the headquarter from Paris to Los Angeles) and, above all, the clothes. 

The direction of Slimane has broken with Saint Laurent's past. The grunge rock style of his collections, with pop-dark atmospheres and clothes inspired by streetwear and vintage trends, have given new life to the brand. It's true that this made a lot of purists of (Yves) Saint Laurent (including me) angry, but the huge success of the new image of the Maison is undeniable.

With an affordable prêt-à-porter very close to that of low-cost fashion, Hedi Slimane has re-launched the brand and reached a larger and younger target, which means more customers inclined to purchase. 

The future of Anthony Vaccarello

So, the position Vaccarello has accepted is a real challange in many ways. With the +27,4% of sales in the final of 2015, the Belgian designer has to maintain a high level of profits that Hedi Slimane made the company earn. It means that expectations are very high from both a creative and, in particular, an economical point of view. 

And what about clothes? Despite Vaccarello confessed he is a fan of his predecessor, he could break with Hedi Slimane's creative line. The sensual elegance, clean silhouettes and Haute Couture style oh his dresses could bring Saint Laurent back to its pre-Slimane glory, matching the archive of the maison with contemporary, trendy Vaccarello's style.

The fact that the communication of Saint Laurent erased all the posts of the past four years of Hedi Slimane from its official Intagram account could be a sign of the intention to break with its recent past. So, a good thing for Vaccarello, which could have had carte blanche about the future of the brand, maybe abandoning Slimane's teenage grunge rock style in favour of a urban-chic mood. 

So, the challange is not easy. Not forgetting that Hedi Slimane has been able to turn Saint Laurent into his own reign, with a court of numerous celebs (in particular musicians, very important for the revolution of the maison) and an army of followers who have shared his style all over the web. I think it will be hard for Vaccarello to reach a similar level, despite even he has a very good reputation and the approve of many big names.

However, what we can expect from him is a change of the creative direction who could take the media success that Saint Laurent gained in the past four years forward. But “re-doing” Hedi Slimane's revolution, whether you liked it or not, will be impossible.