Why Saint Laurent Is Financing Auteur Films
May 13th, 2025 | kobi ansong
Film still from Belle de Jour, 1967; Yves Saint Laurent styled Catherine Deneuve
The Auteur Angle
Over the past 18 months, I’ve been immersing myself in auteur cinema, studying writer-directors whose vision is so distinct that despite the collaborative nature of the film medium, their signature style prevails consistently. That’s how I landed on Paolo Sorrentino (Hand of God, The Great Beauty, etc.), the Italian auteur known for his visually-stunning films that take place in various picturesque Italian locales. During my Sorrentino run, I discovered the trailer for his latest, Parthenope—which, honestly, is a terrible, terrible movie. Aside from A24, one production logo caught my eye: Saint Laurent Productions. Why the hell is one of Kering’s flagship fashion houses co-producing movies?
Posters of Parthenope and Strange Way of Life; Both Saint Laurent Productions
Saint Laurent Productions
In 2023, YSL announced the launch of Saint Laurent Productions. According to the official website:
Saint Laurent Productions is a registered subsidiary of the house, marks the first fashion house to count the full-fledged production of films among its activities. The division, envisioned by Anthony Vaccarello for Saint Laurent, is in line with Vaccarello’s assured steering of the brand into the future, while echoing the cinematic breadth and nuances of his collections.
Back to the Beginning
Yves Saint Laurent himself had a long-standing love for cinema, designing costumes for Belle de Jour (1967), La Chamade (1968), and several theater productions. However, what’s happening now is a new frontier.
YSL Creative Director/Head of Saint Laurent Productions, Anthony Vaccarello told Vogue: “Saint Laurent was always such a cinematic house, but I thought it could be good for the house to be linked directly to film production, rather than just doing costuming, which is more expected.”
Translation: this is way more ambitious than a simple product placement strategy.
Film still from Belle de Jour, 1967; Yves Saint Laurent styled Catherine Deneuve
Business Model: World-Building via Cinema
In line with the emerging prominence of tastemaker studios, production companies, and streamers such as Mubi, Criterion, Neon, and, most notably, A24, Saint Laurent Productions is hyper-focused on auteur-driven cinema, specifically the kind that reflects elevated taste, artistic ambition, and long-term cultural value.
So, what’s the benefit for YSL? Unlike glossy celebrity campaigns, fashion week shows, and other fleeting marketing stunts, film lasts forever. It’s studied, archived, and passed down. I’m currently watching Fellini films made 60+ years ago. That’s the kind of legacy Saint Laurent is buying into.
“For us at Saint Laurent, it gives us new ways to communicate. In doing those films, the name of Saint Laurent stays forever. When the name is on a billboard, it’s so fast—one month later, we forgot about it—but in 20 years the name Saint Laurent is still there,” Vaccarello told Vogue.
More importantly: they’re not gambling on newcomers. Their debut slate in 2024 featured three Cannes-selected, auteur-driven films:
Parthenope
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Director: Paolo Sorrentino
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Budget: €32.6M (~$35M)
Emilia Pérez
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Director: Jacques Audiard
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Budget: €25M (~$26M)
The Shrouds
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Director: David Cronenberg
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Budget: Undisclosed
Industry-standard co-production deals typically involve 25–35% of a film’s budget. Given YSL’s producing credit, they likely contributed within that range. While exact figures haven’t been disclosed, their involvement clearly signals significant capital investment.
Strategic Gains (That Have Nothing to Do with Revenue)
Both Parthenope and Emilia Pérez, despite the Oscars and widespread critical acclaim, took significant losses at box office. Emilia Pérez cost roughly €25 million ($26M) to produce and brought in just $16.3M globally—more than 35% below breakeven, before accounting for marketing and theater cuts. Parthenope fared worse, grossing just $11.6M on a €32.6 million ($35M) budget—a shortfall of nearly 70%. Even with Oscar wins (Emilia took Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Song), neither film came close to recouping its production costs theatrically. For Saint Laurent, this was never about profit.
Despite losing money on paper, YSL’s involvement with Emilia Pérez and Parthenope was a strategic masterstroke. By backing high-art cinema, Saint Laurent deepened its cultural capital, aligning the brand with serious storytelling and global creative prestige. Cannes premieres, critical acclaim, and partnerships with auteurs like Cronenberg and Sorrentino positioned YSL not just as a fashion house, but as a patron of the arts. Through Saint Laurent Productions, the brand now holds lasting IP credits, embeds itself in cinematic history, and subtly extends its visual language through on-screen costuming. In an industry where perception is power, YSL traded short-term revenue for long-term myth-making.
Is this the Future of Luxury in Cinema?
Fashion houses have flirted with cinema for decades, but Saint Laurent Productions is the only house building a full-fledged production arm with a Cannes slate and full producer credits. If Saint Laurent Productions continues, even modestly, it potentially sets a precedent that other houses might follow. Saint Laurent Productions realizes that high-fashion requires context and narrative to thrive. What medium delivers narrative and context more powerfully than cinema?