Saint Laurent opens a sushi restaurant

If Anthony Vaccarello's career continues smoothly, without drama and without (at least for now) participating in the great game of musical chairs for creative directors, unlike many of his industry colleagues, it seems that merely creating clothes is no longer enough. As the side-hustle culture becomes increasingly trendy, but above all necessary in 2025, even the biggest names are not spared: against all odds and in a completely random manner, Saint Laurent has just announced the opening of a sushi restaurant in its Rive Droite store.

After Chanel and its bar in Tokyo, Louis Vuitton and its restaurants integrated into flagship stores, such as the one in Tokyo's Omotesando district, or Dior with its Monsieur Dior restaurant on the Champs-Élysées, gastronomy seems to be the new field that luxury brands are betting on. In these times of crisis, it is understandable that Saint Laurent and Vaccarello are looking for additional revenue streams and expanding their horizons. However, one thing about this project remains puzzling: why sushi? The idea of offering something other than coq au vin or quiche lorraine, to avoid being trapped in the cliché of a purely French-made brand with traditional savoir-faire, is not a bad one. However, the choice to venture into Japanese cuisine seems completely random considering Saint Laurent's roots. Unlike Coco Chanel, whose connection to China and its culture is well documented, neither Anthony Vaccarello, nor Saint Laurent, nor even Yves Saint Laurent himself have any notable ties to Asia, let alone its cuisine. Given the founder's Algerian origins and his love for Morocco—one of his main sources of inspiration and home to the famous Jardin Majorelle and the Yves Saint Laurent Museum—focusing on Maghrebi cuisine would have made far more sense.

This is not the first side venture outside fashion that Vaccarello has introduced at Saint Laurent. In 2023, the Belgian-Italian designer launched Saint Laurent Production, a film production company that, over the past two years, has continuously collaborated with major filmmakers such as David Cronenberg, Abel Ferrara, Wong Kar-Wai, Pedro Almodóvar, Bret Easton Ellis, and Gaspar Noé. These collaborations have earned multiple awards and nominations despite the company being relatively new. Notable films produced include Emilia Perez, a film surrounded by controversy yet showered with nominations and awards this season, as well as David Cronenberg's The Shrouds, which was presented in the official competition at the Cannes Film Festival this year. But Vaccarello hasn’t stopped at cinema—he has also tapped into literature.

At the already well-stocked Rive Droite store, in February 2024, Vaccarello opened Babylone, a bookstore/concept store/art gallery serving as a showcase for the designer’s inspirations and interests. In addition to this personal cultural and literary hub, he also launched Saint Laurent Editions, a publishing house offering photography books aligned with Saint Laurent's aesthetic, ranging from the long-standing artistic collaboration with Juergen Teller to film portraits of Zoë Kravitz and Jeremy Allen White. The side-hustle fever is therefore nothing new for Vaccarello, who has been experimenting for years. Yet, while the idea of creating a new social and culinary hub under the refined Saint Laurent brand is interesting, sushi might not be the best execution. But who knows? Perhaps in this new venture, Vaccarello will feel like a fish in water.