Kering told a room full of analysts what it still hasn't told the rest of us: Saint Laurent's next designer is already picked. Quick context first. On October 9, Saint Laurent confirmed Anthony Vaccarello is leaving after a decade, following his gold-themed spring 2027 show. Sales nearly tripled on his watch, then revenue fell 9% in 2024 and 6% in 2025. Chloé's Chemena Kamali, who used to be his women's ready-to-wear design director, is widely reported as the successor. She hasn't been confirmed. Picked, just not announced. On Fashion Business Daily: what Kering actually wants that designer to sell, whether a size-inclusive collab won on the clothes or the cause, and a Fendi-approved start-up getting ready to tag smart products. Saint Laurent first. This story isn't over: Saint Laurent creative succession. Follow us wherever you're listening, and the next chapter comes to you. Miles Socha, writing in WWD:
The next designer at Saint Laurent has already been selected and is expected to focus on women’s daywear, menswear and high-end leather goods as the Paris-based house plows into underpenetrated markets like Asia, and especially China. That’s what equity analysts were told Friday morning after Kering revealed the departure of the brand’s star designer Anthony Vaccarello.
So Vaccarello's exit got confirmed Friday, and now WWD says the successor's already picked. Chemena Kamali, expected, not announced. The brief is women's daywear, menswear, high-end leather goods, and Asia, especially China. That's four jobs stapled together. And watch where that list comes from. It's what Kering told equity analysts on a sell-side call, relayed by Barclays' Viktoria Petrova. So it's the group's stated strategy, and the house hasn't printed a name. Kamali's firmer than a rumor now. Still not an appointment. My favorite bit? Kering expects no pipeline disruption because the business is skewed to carry-over leather goods. So the pitch to the new designer is basically: the bags run themselves, please don't touch them. Bernstein's Luca Solca brought up De Sarno at Gucci, and yeah, hard to argue with that scoreboard. Kering says the exit has nothing to do with recent performance. WWD has Saint Laurent revenue down nine percent in 2024 and six in 2025. So the first collection gets graded on daywear and leather sell-through in China. The runway reviews come second. Zofia Zwieglinska, writing in Glossy:
As GLP-1 drugs alter customers’ bodies and shopping habits, Universal Standard is betting that fluctuating sizes make inclusive fashion more relevant, not less. The brand launched US x Abisola, a seven-piece capsule created with London-based creative director Abisola Omole, in September. Priced from $150-$225 and spanning sizes 00-40, it includes tailoring, knitwear and separates designed to work as a wardrobe.
Funny follow to the Saint Laurent piece. Universal Standard handed Abisola Omole seven pieces and one job, and she came back with a Ponte blazer and wrap pant people bought together. Average order, 1.7 pieces. That's the tailoring doing the selling. Brand-reported, all of it. Nearly 90% of units in size 14 or above, sizes 18 to 24 alone at 54%, and nearly 60% of the first week gone in 48 hours. Revenue, inventory allocation, overall sell-through? Not disclosed. Sure, but the $150 polo sweater was a third of units. A knit. People came back for the knit. And that's a size-curve signal, Joey. Glossy frames it against GLP-1, 21% of U.S. households per PwC and Numerator, but nothing here shows these buyers are on the drug. I'd want week-ten numbers next to that 80% repeat rate before I'd call a 48-hour rush retention. Martino Carrera, writing in WWD:
The EU is expected to issue a sector-specific delegated act for fashion and textiles in the fourth quarter of 2027, followed by an 18-month compliance window, making 2029 the earliest plausible enforcement date. Brands may still view it as another regulatory and reporting burden, and far off, but it will eventually become a market-access requirement for any company seeking to sell in the EU.
So a tailor walks into Big Tech. Lor Albrighi used to cut for Giovanni Gastel, Eliana Kuo came out of Etro and Armani, and now their start-up, Spin, is building digital product passports that Fendi's already using inside the house. Inside the house is the part I'd underline. Fendi runs an adapted version internally, and nobody's put a number on savings or revenue, so this is one deployment at one house. And the regulation it's built for is a ways off. WWD has the EU's fashion delegated act expected in Q4 2027, then an eighteen-month compliance window. So 2029's the earliest anyone's actually forced to comply. Okay, but if a Fendi bag is getting a chip that tells its whole life story? Put the atelier on it. Name the hands that stitched it, not just a batch code and a carbon figure. That's a feature request for 2029, Joey. Right now the pitch is getting ahead of a market-access rule. The smart-product upside stays in the white paper until a second brand signs and somebody puts numbers on it. Got feedback, a story idea, or a correction? Email us at fashionbusinessdaily at lantern podcasts dot com. We'd love to hear what you're seeing in the fashion business.
We'll be watching for Saint Laurent's formal announcement of its new creative leadership, and whether it confirms Chemena Kamali. We're also watching for the EU's fashion-and-textiles Digital Product Passport delegated act, expected in Q4 2027, which kicks off an 18-month compliance window.
Links to every story are in the show notes, so take a look at the ones you want to follow more closely. That's Fashion Business Daily for today. This is a Lantern Podcast.