Anthony Vaccarello has quit Versus Versace.
Anthony Vaccarello and Anja Rubik
The former creative director of the Italian designer brand - the sister company of Versace, which was re-launched by Christopher Kane in 2009 following its close in 2005 - officially left the fashion house on Sunday (03.04.16) to take over from the former creative and image director of Yves Saint Laurent, Hedi Slimane, who relinquished his job on Friday (01.04.16).
Speaking about Vaccarello's departure, the luxury brand's chief designer Donatella Versace said: "While I'm sad to see him leave the Versace family, I wish Anthony Vaccarello tremendous success with his next chapter."
Musing on other departures from the label, she added: "In each instance, their time on Versus Versace led to them making a huge advancement in their design career. I appreciated the chance to work with each of these three designers - Jonathan Anderson, Christopher Kane and Anthony Vaccarello - 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."
The 33-year-old Belgian/Italian - who collaborated with Versus before taking full control of the reins one year ago - sparked rumours of a potential move after his use of lace and leather pieces, which were symbolic to the 1980s rock era in his latest collection was compared to Hedi's Yves Saint Laurent garments.
Vaccarello was behind the see-now/sell-now model, which allowed garments to become immediately available after being showcased on the catwalk, which boosted the company's profits last year.
Tagged in Donatella Versace Hedi Slimane