Anthony Vaccarello leaves Versus Versace

Another day, another departure. Over the last year, announcements of fashion designers’ departures from their roles as creative directors of different brands have become almost a weekly phenomenon. This morning, just three days after Saint Laurent owner Kering announced that Hedi Slimane is leaving the label, Versus Versace has announced the departure of Anthony Vaccarello, the brand’s creative director of only one year.

“While I’m sad to see him leave the Versace family, I wish Anthony Vaccarello tremendous success with his next chapter,” said Donatella Versace, according to the New York Times. While the nature of this “next chapter” is yet to be determined, the Belgian-Italian designer is hotly tipped to replace Slimane at Saint Laurent – something he brushed off as a “rumour” at his eponymous label’s AW16 show back in September. 

Vaccarello was appointed as creative director of Versus Versace in January 2015, following several successful capsule collections for the brand. He’s since become known as Donatella’s protégé, crafting a sexy, body-conscious design signature that takes after the godmother of glamour’s own. But for all its flesh-flashing and sensuality, this signature is also imbued with a sense of indie rock and characterised by a razor-sharp silhouette – two elements that would make him a fitting successor of Slimane at Saint Laurent. 

The designer wouldn’t be the first former Versus Versace creative director to go on to great things – J.W. Anderson and Christopher Kane previously held the position before LVMH and Kering respectively took stakes in their eponymous labels. Speaking on this trend, Donatella said, “I appreciated the chance to work with each of these three designers, and I enjoyed seeing what they brought to a brand I truly love. I’m proud that Versus can be such a remarkable global platform for emerging design talent.”

As for Donatella’s next recruit, as yet, she is being coy, simply saying that she will be “surprising everybody”. Donatella, we’re looking forward to being surprised.