Saint Laurent Loses Famous Designer

(RTTNews) - Designer Hedi Slimane is leaving French fashion house Yves Saint Laurent as its creative and image director, Yves Saint Laurent and parent company Kering SA (PPRUY.PK, PPRUF.PK) said Friday.

Kering, which owns several luxury brands including Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga, noted that Slimane's departure comes at the end of a four-year contract that led to the complete repositioning of the Yves Saint Laurent brand.

The company added that a new creative organization for Saint Laurent will be communicated in due course.

Francesca Bellettini, president and CEO of Saint Laurent, said, "I would like to thank Hedi Slimane very much for his vision in reforming such an iconic House as Yves Saint Laurent. The direction that has been taken over the last four years represents an incredible foundation for the Brand to build on for its continuous success."

The announcement of Slimane's departure ends months of speculation whether he would stay on Saint Laurent.

Slimane, aged 47, is a former men's wear designer at Dior Homme. In March 2012, Saint Laurent appointed Slimane as creative and image Director, assuming total responsibility for the brand image and all its collections.

He made several sweeping changes to the house. These include moving the design studio from Paris to Los Angeles, redesigning the brand's logo and renaming its ready-to-wear line as Saint Laurent.

His efforts have led to a remarkable financial turnaround at Saint Laurent. The brand now accounts for 12 percent of sales by Kering's luxury brands and also represents 8 percent of the group's total sales.

Slimane's departure comes on the heels of departure of three other major creative directors from high-fashion brands. Alexander Wang left Kering's Balenciaga in July 2015, while Raf Simons stepped down in October from Christian Dior, and Alber Elbaz left Lanvin, also in October.

Speculation is rife that Belgian-Italian designer Anthony Vaccarello might replace Slimane.