Cédric Charbit discussed creativity, client relationships and the Parisian house’s China ambitions.

WUHAN — “Yves Saint Laurent was never looking backward,” Cédric Charbit, chief executive officer of Saint Laurent, said at the WWD x SKP Global Fashion & Beauty Summit in Wuhan, China, on Oct. 22. “He was always in sync with his time and always looking at what was happening next.”

Charbit said that idea is as relevant to the house today as it was to its founder: use Saint Laurent’s history to engage with the present, rather than preserve the past.

On stage, the CEO since January 2025 thanked Anthony Vaccarello for his decade as creative director. Vaccarello stepped down earlier this month and a successor is expected to be named soon.

Charbit said Vaccarello had made “a massive impact on our financial trajectory, on our image” and created “a very recognizable silhouette” for men and women. He also credited him with helping the brand build cultural relevance.

“Ten years in our industry is quite a long one,” Charbit said. But a CEO, he added, has ”to look at the future and plan ahead the next 10 years.”

Saint Laurent is in a strong position, he said, but “there is somehow much more we can do with it.”

For Charbit, that forward-looking spirit goes back to Yves Saint Laurent himself.

The designer arrived in Paris at 19 and opened his couture house with Pierre Bergé at 21. “He had no heritage in mind. He didn’t know he would leave behind him such a great legacy,” Charbit said.

Source link