callum When Anthony Vaccarello shown up at Saint Laurent in 2016, he had enormous shoes to fill. In only a few years’ time, his predecessor Hedi Slimane had radically altered the public picture (not the mention the name) of the brand, boosting revenues by revamping almost whatever about its product lineup as well as point of view. As quickly as he arrived, though, he decided to leave, as well as Vaccarello came on in his place, in a extremely precarious position: The brand had just undergone a extremely public as well as extremely considerable aesthetic shift, which had been extremely prominent 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 translate Slimane’s work eventually, however the timing was all wrong for a huge shift in the collection. After two years, though, the time for that may be now.
In May, I composed about exactly how a huge part of Saint Laurent’s purse strategy for the past few years has been having, like, actually a lots or so extremely similar flap shoulder bags with logo hardware. The assortment modifications a bit bit with every new collection, however the look was established extremely early under Slimane as well as it has ballooned to take up most of the purse identity at YSL. The other huge aspect of the brand’s purse assortment is the Sac de Jour, which was was likewise a fairly early addition under Slimane that has stayed largely unchanged in the two years since Vaccarello took over his job, with the exception of slight hardware tweaks as well as a less structured choice for the bag’s bigger sizes. the public picture of the brand’s bags has ended up being a bit stagnant.
Saint Laurent Bellechasse Bag, $1,990 via Nordstrom
The most notable addition to the purse steady under Vaccarello has probably been the Bellechasse, which is a neutral, tailored shoulder bag without the logo hardware that defines most compact YSL options. It’s been a moderate success, at least based on my perception, however it hasn’t been the type of bag that’s turned the interest of bag enthusiasts like many of the very first bag debuts under Slimane. Vaccarello has shown some indications that he means to oversee the introduction of more bags like the Bellechasse, such as the likewise unbranded Amalia, which is a logo-free saddle bag that’s recently in stores.
The issue Saint Laurent may be about to face, though, is that these new styles aren’t especially unique or attention-getting, as well as the bags in Saint Laurent’s lineup that are, have all been well understood by the public for many years as well as are starting to show some fatigue. It’s important for all brands to have a line that includes lots of quieter pieces, however since purses are the public deal with of a fashion line to far more people than will ever be able to pick a brand’s leather pants or celebration gowns out of a lineup, it’s necessary to have a turning choice of super-distinct marquee pieces. If you let shoppers get tired of those styles without offering something new as well as exciting, shoppers tend to look elsewhere, as well as it then becomes harder to move those more subtle options, too. The keystone styles provide a hook for the entire brand, as well as they requirement to be kept fresh.
Saint Laurent Amalia Bag, $1,990 via Nordstrom
If you requirement a recent example of a brand mismanaging this routine a bit bit since of a designer change, you can look to Givenchy, which let the Antigona, Nightingale as well as Pandora sit around a bit as well long at the end of Riccardo Tisci’s tenure without providing something similarly interesting to find next. (Granted, Givenchy tried with the Horizon, however the execution was a bit off, as well as the bag didn’t catch on as broadly.) Saint Laurent might potentially be headed toward this exact same tiring fate, handbag-wise, if it doesn’t have something fun in the pipeline for shoppers in the next season or two.
That’s the perception I get from shoppers, anyway—plenty are willing to entertain the Slimane-esque styles for now, however he only provided the brand with so many re-interpretable concepts in his short time leading it. Vaccarello is going to have to venture further out into his own look soon, at least with a huge debut or two. let us understand what you believe of the specify of Saint Laurent in the comments.