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Saint Laurent can't shake rumors that designer Hedi Slimane might be exiting the fashion house. Daily Front Row floated the rumor last week, and now WWD's sources have it that Slimane hasn't reached an agreement on his Saint Laurent contract renewal.
WWD reports that Slimane is prepared to walk away from Saint Laurent and has even identified a successor in Anthony Vaccarello, the Belgian-Italian designer Donatella Versace tapped to run Versus Versace. Slimane and Vaccarello are said to have had extensive talks already.
A Saint Laurent spokeswoman told WWD that the brand "does not comment on rumors."
If Slimane were to leave Saint Laurent, where he's found great success, he'd be one more designer in fashion's revolving door. Raf Simon left Dior and Alber Elbaz left Lanvin late last year, and successors for both have yet to be named.
Meanwhile, Saint Laurent announced yesterday that it will host its fall men's collection and part of its women's collection in LA at the Palladium, instead of Paris. Slimane is based in LA and a big fan of LA's music scene, and the show will be held February 10th, right before the Grammy Awards.