When Anthony Vaccarello arrived at Saint Laurent in 2016, he had enormous shoes to fill. In only a few years’ time, his predecessor Hedi Slimane had radically changed the public image (not the mention the name) of the brand, boosting profits by revamping nearly everything about its product lineup and point of view. As quickly as he arrived, though, he decided to leave, and Vaccarello came on in his place, in a very precarious position: The brand had just undergone a very public and very significant aesthetic shift, which had been very popular with shoppers, if not with critics. (It is the shoppers, ultimately, who matter to the brand’s parent company, Kering.) Vaccarello had to do more than just interpret Slimane’s work eventually, but the timing was all wrong for a big shift in the collection. After two years, though, the time for that might be now.
In May, I wrote about how a big part of Saint Laurent’s handbag strategy for the past few years has been having, like, literally a dozen or so very similar flap shoulder bags with logo hardware. The assortment changes a little bit with every new collection, but the look was developed very early under Slimane and it has ballooned to take up most of the handbag identity at YSL. The other big element of the brand’s handbag assortment is the Sac de Jour, which was was also a relatively early addition under Slimane that has remained largely unchanged in the two years since Vaccarello took over his job, with the exception of slight hardware tweaks and a less structured option for the bag’s bigger sizes. The public image of the brand’s bags has become a bit stagnant.
The most notable addition to the handbag stable under Vaccarello has arguably been the Bellechasse, which is a neutral, tailored shoulder bag without the logo hardware that characterizes most compact YSL options. It’s been a modest success, at least based on my perception, but it hasn’t been the kind of bag that’s turned the attention of bag lovers like many of the first bag debuts under Slimane. Vaccarello has shown some indications that he intends to oversee the introduction of more bags like the Bellechasse, such as the similarly unbranded Amalia, which is a logo-free saddle bag that’s newly in stores.
The problem Saint Laurent might be about to face, though, is that these new designs aren’t particularly distinctive or attention-getting, and the bags in Saint Laurent’s lineup that are, have all been well known by the public for years and are starting to show some fatigue. It’s important for all brands to have a line that includes plenty of quieter pieces, but because handbags are the public face of a fashion line to far more people than will ever be able to pick a brand’s leather pants or party dresses out of a lineup, it’s essential to have a rotating selection of super-distinct marquee pieces. If you let shoppers get tired of those designs without offering something new and exciting, shoppers tend to look elsewhere, and it then becomes harder to move those more subtle options, too. The keystone designs provide a hook for the entire brand, and they need to be kept fresh.
If you need a recent example of a brand mismanaging this schedule a little bit because of a designer change, you can look to Givenchy, which let the Antigona, Nightingale and Pandora sit around a little too long at the end of Riccardo Tisci’s tenure without providing something equally exciting to come next. (Granted, Givenchy tried with the Horizon, but the execution was a bit off, and the bag didn’t catch on as broadly.) Saint Laurent could potentially be headed toward this same boring fate, handbag-wise, if it doesn’t have something fun in the pipeline for shoppers in the next season or two.
That’s the impression I get from shoppers, anyway—plenty are willing to entertain the Slimane-esque styles for now, but he only provided the brand with so many re-interpretable ideas in his short time leading it. Vaccarello is going to have to venture further out into his own look soon, at least with a big debut or two. Let us know what you think of the state of Saint Laurent in the comments.
Nice article! I agree. Especially considering the new designs being introduced constantly by LV or Gucci other brands are lagging behind. I feel Balenciaga is also kind of following the same fate, nothing noteworthy has come from the brand in a long while. Bottega, Ferragamo and Prada are doing a better job keeping up with the demand for constant new bag designs 🙂
Not at all. Saint Laurent bags are new to me, I’ve always gone for other brands. But the large Loulou tote is a perfect work bag. So I don’t find the brand boring. OTOH, Celine does bore me. When I scroll through the Celine bag offerings I can barely make it more than half way through before I start yawning. To each his own. As for Gucci, I love my Gucci Tian bag, but many of the newer bags leave me cold. I don’t need a $1500+ gimmicky bag that will look outdated in two years or less.
Céline looks boring online but in person the quality comes through and they are stunning. I was put off until I ventured into a store.
Yes, so bored LOL
I agree that they need a new IT bag but I personally love the existing flap bags. I hope they never go away.
Nope, not bored at all. I mean, if so many aren’t bored of Chanel CC why should we be bored with YSL?
But Chanel is shaking things up with the fabrics or the colors of their bags. And they have their seasonal or even statement clutches.
People buy classic Chanel bags because they are safe but they have much more fun bags.
Definitely. Also Chanel classics are striking. Absolutely nothing striking about SL bags. If it weren’t for those hideous metal “YSL” logos, you’d think it was a Zara bag.
Agreed!
I think if a brand constantly comes out with new shapes and designs and they discontinue the old one, the bags lose value and look dated within a season. There’s a very careful balance that needs to be done in order to be a successful brand. I think YSL is doing good. A lot better than Givenchy. They do however, need a new IT bag.
The Sac du Jour is the most boring bag of all time.
As Vaccarello bags are rather boring, maybe he should reintroduce Stefano’s bags. I miss the Besace, the Muse 2 and maybe the Downtown (all redisgned of course).
I buy the shoes, won’t even look at their boring bags. I don’t want them to go the way of Gucci (dozens of goofy hipster bags I won’t look at) I’d like to see some modern and FUNCTIONAL classic designs.
No. I just started to warm up to the logo and design. Although not enough to buy yet, but may probably be soon.
Saint Laurent bags are a real snooze.
I loved the stuff Anthony brought out in his first season, especially the Universite bag which I just bought. Aside from the Bellechasse (as I am a minimalist), I haven’t really been drawn to many of the new designs.
Saint Laurent, just like Givenchy, are not specialized in bags in the first place. Saint Laurent bags are pale copies of other brands, and quality is cheaper, hence the “affordable” price. Vaccarello is not a bag designer, I guess there are people at SL atelier who work on them. As for the logo-free model, I personally would love all the brands to go back to that instead of the tacky all logo trend that’s going on right now, to please the young hype beasts.
It may be a little boring, granted, but I love my YSL bags. I saw the Amalie bag with black piping and brown suede. Hello. It certainly caught my attention. A slow burner perhaps?
Love Saint Laurent bags, and I really enjoy that the designs are sticking around. Brands shouldn’t change aesthetic as soon as they change designers, otherwise people will be wary of buying bags in fear that they will become obsolete sooner rather than later (usually sooner with how fast the industry is churning designers around).