How CEO Francesca Bellettini turned Saint Laurent into a Powerhouse Brand
Saint Laurent CEO Francesca Bellettini (Left) with Creative Director Anthony Vaccarello (RIght) Photo: Saint Laurent via: Business of Fashion
Saint Laurent has been a leader of fashion for years now. Under the helm of creative director Anthony Vaccarello, the brand has become a powerhouse in the fashion industry and an influence within French fashion houses. However, behind every powerful brand is an even more powerful woman and Saint Laurent CEO Francesca Bellettini is just that. Bellettini has been the brand’s CEO since 2013, forming it into the brand it is today in collaboration with Vaccarello. In addition to that, she also is on the committee for France's Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode and is the president of Chambre Syndicale de la Mode Féminine as well as a French Knight of the Legion of Honour recipient, which is one of the highest awards in France. In other words, Bellettini is a woman of many hats in fashion.
Spring Summer 2020 Campaign Photo: Sarah Piantadosi via: Another Magazine
Bellettini grew up in Cesena, Italy and went to school for economics and business administration at Milan’s Bocconi University along with studying at the University of Chicago for a 5 month exchange program. Bellettini has a huge resume in business related jobs. She eventually moved to New York post-grad to train with Goldman Sachs then she relocated to London to work for an investment bank called Deutsche Morgan Grenfell that worked particularly with luxury fashion houses. Through this job, she met Patrizio Bertelli, the then CEO of Prada Group. Bertelli offered her a job with Prada group to be a part of its business development division. After Prada, she had worked with many luxury brands before Saint Laurent such as Gucci and Bottega Veneta.
Saint Laurent 2018 RTW Show Photo: Valerio Mezzanotti via: The New York Times
Bellettini was given the freedom to give Saint Laurent the changes it needed in order to progress as a brand. Under her, the brand diversified their goods selection, provided flexibility with its clients and invested in itself to create more growth within it. This ended up being great for the brand. Under her, the brand was able to reach its $1 billion sales goal in 2017. It also helps that she works great with creative director Vaccarello and they match each other’s visions for the brand. About Bellettini, Vaccarello said, “Working with her is enriching,” he said. “She lets me be totally free. We talk a lot about strategy, where we want to go. But I don’t have to do something to please someone or some client.” She allows him to take risks with the brand and is flexible with his creativity and collections, allowing for them to have a great work relationship.
Saint Laurent Fall Winter 2022 Campaign Photo: Juergen Teller via Grazia
Like many other businesses, the fashion industry has a gender inequality problem. Many luxury fashion brands are led by male creative directors and CEOs that make the big decisions. Having a female CEO is important for any brand to have, especially if the brand caters to female consumers but many brands are male lead. A 2019 study done by the consulting firm PwC found that only 12.5% of fortune 1000 fashion companies have female CEOs with only 26% being board members. In addition to this, female CEOs get paid less than their male counterparts. Fashion schools have mostly female led graduation classes and come into the industry in record numbers but it is overwhelmingly harder for women to work their way up post grad. This inequality is even worse given that the fashion industry caters to majority female consumers with women making up to 80% of purchasing decisions that are related to fashion. Additionally, female led brands profit twice as much as male led ones.
Saint Laurent’s Fall 2018 Ready to Wear Show Photo: Pascal Le Segretain via: Fashionista
These gender inequalities are unfair and companies need to set clear diversity initiatives regarding them. These numbers do not lie, for an industry that women are the biggest consumers of, it is important for brands to place females into leading positions to make company decisions. There is importance when brands like Saint Laurent place women such as Bellettini as its CEO. Women know how to cater to most female consumers and can market to them well. Bellettini has been able to do just that with Saint Laurent. She has been able to grow the brand into a powerhouse within the industry. The future of Saint Laurent looks bright with Francesca Bellettini at the helm with Anthony Vaccarello.
