Credits: Harald Krichel / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Charlotte Gainsbourg accompanied Anthony Vaccarello’s final bow in song on Tuesday, September 29, in Paris. The Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello spring-summer 2027 collection had just been presented. This performance revives the rumor of a departure, published as early as September 10 by Puck. The day after the runway show, no official announcement came to confirm the end of the Belgian designer’s ten years at the helm of the house.
A Sung Tribute At The Trocadéro
The show took place at the Trocadéro, facing the Eiffel Tower, beneath large golden chandeliers. Gold dominated both the clothes and the accessories in an almost monochrome collection. Charlotte Gainsbourg accompanied the designer’s final bow, a performance also reported by AFP in its September 29 account.
In this song addressed personally to Vaccarello, the artist associates his name with the world of Yves Saint Laurent. The singer and the designer then embrace. The tribute gives the end of the show an intimate dimension. An artist close to the house celebrates the man who has designed its collections since 2016.
This proximity explains the impact of the moment and the questions it raises. It does not, however, allow Charlotte Gainsbourg to be assigned the task of announcing a Saint Laurent or Kering decision, Kering being its owner. Nothing public establishes that she was speaking about the designer’s professional status.
Puck Was Already Mentioning A Departure On September 10
The song is not the source of the information. In an article published on September 10, Lauren Sherman reports for Puck that Anthony Vaccarello is set to leave Saint Laurent. According to the journalist, the departure is to take place after his Paris show. The American media outlet’s report therefore comes nineteen days before the presentation of spring-summer 2027.
This timeline changes the reading of the finale. Gainsbourg’s performance takes place before an audience that may already know the departure hypothesis. It overlays preexisting insider information rather than serving as the first reveal.
AFP repeats this information in its September 29 dispatch while specifying that it is not confirmed by the house. The report therefore does not constitute a second independent announcement: the identified source remains Puck. At this stage, the departure should be attributed to Lauren Sherman, and not presented as a decision made public by Saint Laurent.
The Gold And The Archives Give The Show A Sense Of Takeaway
The collection also contributes to this impression of a retrospective. Gold appears on leathers, brocades—ornamental woven fabrics with patterns—and oversized jewelry. The textures alter its sheen: leather, embroidery, and a metal accessory do not reflect light in the same way.
This choice draws on an old Yves Saint Laurent penchant. According to the notes of intent reported by AFP, the house links this taste to memories of Oran and Marrakech. It also associates it with the objects and accessories that shaped the founder’s world. Vaccarello thus invokes one element of this heritage.
The clothes reveal other specific lineages. Sahariennes, pocketed jackets derived from utility wear, appear alongside trench coats with defined waists and skirts falling below the knee. The broadened shoulders, the tailoring and the lace revealing the body, in turn recall the contrasts Vaccarello has regularly explored.
This meeting between structured garments and transparency allows the show to be read as a synthesis of his work. The designer revisits forms established in the house’s history and gathers them around a dominant color. There is enough here for an aesthetic assessment, even if the collection alone does not provide an answer about his future.
Ten Years Of Saint Laurent By Anthony Vaccarello
Anthony Vaccarello’s tenure at Saint Laurent dates back to April 2016. The Kering appointment announcement then said he would take over immediately as creative director. He succeeded Hedi Slimane.
Trained at La Cambre in Brussels, the Belgian designer had worked at Fendi before launching his own label in 2009. He had also worked for Versus Versace, first as a consultant and then as creative director starting in 2015. His arrival at Saint Laurent thus extended a career already centered on cut and womenswear.
The announcement at the time emphasized his ability to bring feminine and masculine elements together in a single silhouette. Ten years later, the tailoring and lace of spring-summer 2027 make it possible to rediscover that tension in the clothes shown. The continuity lies in the way references are combined as much as in the return of emblematic pieces.
The heritage available to him in fact goes beyond his own era. Kering notes that the founder introduced the tuxedo into women’s wardrobes in 1966. Any succession would therefore raise a double creative question. What should be kept from this history? What place should be given to the codes Vaccarello asserted over a decade?
A House Kering Says Has Returned To Growth
The issue also concerns Saint Laurent’s business. In its first-half 2026 results, published on July 28, Kering says the house has returned to growth. The group points in particular to strong performance in North America and Western Europe.
Its commentary notes an acceleration compared with the previous quarter in all regions except Asia-Pacific. Kering cites demand for new collections, as well as improved commercial execution and product delivery. It thus describes several factors behind the rebound, whose effects cannot be attributed to the creative director alone.
The September 29 show comes after the period covered by these results. It would therefore be misleading to directly connect the spring-summer 2027 collection to first-half performance. Those results provide the context in which the question of succession arises, without shedding light on the reasons for any possible change.
Official Confirmation Is Still Pending
As of September 30, 2026, Kering’s official Saint Laurent page still lists Anthony Vaccarello as creative director. The house’s official September 30 publication also continues to attribute the summer 2027 women’s collection to him. None of these elements, however, amounts to a commitment about what comes next in his tenure.
Neither a departure date nor a successor’s name has been officially announced. A statement from Vaccarello, Saint Laurent, or Kering would make it possible to clarify what today falls under the information published by Puck. Charlotte Gainsbourg’s song will remain a tribute to the designer. Its possible place in the story of a final runway show still depends on that confirmation.