Hedi Slimane - Designer

[PDFSD]

[

In other words, you basically need to undergo a similar relationship building process with a Celine SA so that you get to have a better look at the collection, which you might otherwise not even get the chance to buy, as a substantial part of the runway is made to order and needs to be ordered well in advance (again, garments with beaded trimmings or sequinned tux jackets were regularly produced at Dior and Saint Laurent).

I would totally understand this strategy if we were talking about a mainstream luxury brand that wasn‘t helmed by a designer with a cult following - But this being Hedi, it‘s clear there is a rather dedicated and well informed fanbase thatjust want a clear look and decent access to the product they’re interested in, without the aforementioned hassle.

at LV per example they apply same games for many runway product etc depending on competitive A locations etc

Celine is mainstream (even if hedi has a cult following or cult status in some circles) i see ladies that are 60 year olds and don't dress like a Hedi groupie and just carry a celine bag with very normal everyday clothes ...the logo belt is see everywhere every random girl/woman i see it on and i hate it to be honest it look cheap.

just like Phoebe luggage bag or balenciaga biker bag etc no matter how much cult a brand creative director might or seem if they are lucky and create items that resonate with a wider audience they become mainstream.

at YSL and Celine ...i don't think hedi´s commercial products are cult its very mainstream items thats why i think he is always commercial successful as he does things that are close to undersandatable for a wider audience even if he is hyper edited in his approached to design.

you dont need to know Hedi or study his approach to like his products is my basic point

 

[99 Percent Polyester]

I mentioned in the Matthieu Blazy thread that I was not a Hedi warrior, but after reading some of the posts in here and watching the videos shared, I think I may have converted now

 

[PDFSD]

I mentioned in the Matthieu Blazy thread that I was not a Hedi warrior, but after reading some of the posts in here and watching the videos shared, I think I may have converted now

i am coming out as well lol

 

[99 Percent Polyester]

i am coming out as well lol

Just in time for his retirement too - I guess it's true you don't truly appreciate something until it's gone lol

but fingers crossed he doesn't and finds a new home (house? 🥁)

 

[MulletProof]

I mentioned in the Matthieu Blazy thread that I was not a Hedi warrior, but after reading some of the posts in here and watching the videos shared, I think I may have converted now

it was the other way around for me, I can't stand Hedi and yet.. you read some of the posts in the Blazy thread and it makes you long for old-school designers who.. kind of design/have a thought or two. Then I come to this thread and see the fans typing like this to make a point, and I come back to my senses....

 

[PDFSD]

it was the other way around for me, I can't stand Hedi and yet.. you read some of the posts in the Blazy thread and it makes you long for old-school designers who.. kind of design/have a thought or two. Then I come to this thread and see the fans typing like this to make a point, and I come back to my senses....

i tough we made peace ....lol

was trying to highlight the main points lol but it came out as a ransom note ...and then i thought i should give people like you something to write about ...:-) because your missed

 

[jeanclaude]

I have always thought that Hedi from Dior Homme was just a design team (including designers like Nicola Andrea Taralis) curated by Hedi.

At YSL and Celine the level was subpar, when compared to Dior Homme. The creativity and wearable avant-garde factors were totally gone. You can clearly tell that amazing design team was not working for Hedi anymore.

And the magic was lost.

 

[SpeedRacer666]

I really thought that Dior was being setup for him to take over with MGC and Kim Jones on their way out and Francis Kurkdjian potentially nearing the end of his contract. But now with Jonathan Anderson seemingly taking helm and this latest tirade, the LVMH relationship is maybe soured so I wonder where he'll end up.

 

[Kimihiro]

Who can even afford him at this point?

 

[99 Percent Polyester]

Who can even afford him at this point?

Maybe Jeff Bezos.

You've heard of the Amazon Essentials clothing line...

...now get ready for Amazon Luxuries designed by Hedi Slimane.

 

[tricotineacetat]

I have always thought that Hedi from Dior Homme was just a design team (including designers like Nicola Andrea Taralis) curated by Hedi.

At YSL and Celine the level was subpar, when compared to Dior Homme. The creativity and wearable avant-garde factors were totally gone. You can clearly tell that amazing design team was not working for Hedi anymore.

And the magic was lost.

In hindsight, I think it contributes to different factors - synergy with a team of designers being one but also the context of time in which those collections leading up to 2004 were being created in. The early 2000s were truely a time when fashion (not to be confused with luxury goods) was something that dedicated followers were consuming. Remember - There were no high street designer collaborations or social media influencers at the time. It was a much more analog culture and information was something you still had to dig for.

Hedi Slimane emerged more or less around the same time as Nicolas Ghesquiere was first credited as the lead designer at Balenciaga. It was a time in which a lot of brands emerged that would later be considered 'niche fashion brands' - Balenciaga, Dior Homme, Lanvin and also Rochas. Up until that time, there were independent, established designers such as the Japanese or the Belgians but the idea that storied couture maisons were revived to sit in a very specific niche with mostly connaisseur audiences was new. Larger recognition for those brands only happened when Dior Homme added a sneaker and jeans line and Balenciaga introduced the Lariat bag, which were attractive also to audiences that had little connection with the RTW image.

Saint Laurent‘s reboot under Hedi happened at a time when the industry and the consumption of fashion had already largely changed. The Le Figaro interview Hedi gave explained the change of brief and the significantly larger scale of the brand (with the addition of womenswear and a much larger involvement with store designs than at Dior), this meant Hedi was likely less involved in the 1:1 design per piece and more in the necessity to delegate a (much larger) team - Just to make but one example: Olivier Theyskens still drew every single look from his show down to the accessories at Nina Ricci and Rochas. That was a whole other degree of control.

 

[tricotineacetat]

I am confident this very climate in fashion we are experiencing will lead to something else to be birthed after that. We saw Phoebe Philo to start her own brand, choosing creative independence and personal well-being over the ego of taking on an even bigger brand. So who knows what appeals to Nicolas Ghesquiere, Hedi Slimane or Raf Simons by the time they purchased all the art, luxury properties etc. that money can buy? Maybe we will see a renaissance of independent design lead by a new generation lead by very different marketing strategies than we‘re accustomed to right now?

 

[Lola701]

I have always thought that Hedi from Dior Homme was just a design team (including designers like Nicola Andrea Taralis) curated by Hedi.

At YSL and Celine the level was subpar, when compared to Dior Homme. The creativity and wearable avant-garde factors were totally gone. You can clearly tell that amazing design team was not working for Hedi anymore.

And the magic was lost.

While I agree that it’s a possibility,
We shouldn’t undervalue the influence of the environment.
Hedi at Dior Homme was a very different time for Paris in the early 00’s as it was it rebirth in the fashion scene (the 90’s were about the dominance of Milan and NYC thanks to the stamp of validation from Helmut Lang was the cool in fashion + music and all).
Hedi was about Berlin and I remember how everybody in the fashion world in Paris wanted a piece of Berlin because the coolest people deemed it as The City!
And it was The French touch in music, cinema, comedians, a new garde in architecture, magazines…etc. That generation was building something that wasn’t based on direct references from the 60’s/70’s.

His work changed as LA became more part of his life.

That’s why KVA took a lot of people by surprised because his work wasn’t rock inspired. I remember attending of the early KVA show, where the soundtrack was Malcolm McLaren, I remember men in the attendance saying how it had the spirit of « Les debuts d’Hedi ».

 

[tricotineacetat]

While I agree that it’s a possibility,
We shouldn’t undervalue the influence of the environment.
Hedi at Dior Homme was a very different time for Paris in the early 00’s as it was it rebirth in the fashion scene (the 90’s were about the dominance of Milan and NYC thanks to the stamp of validation from Helmut Lang was the cool in fashion + music and all).
Hedi was about Berlin and I remember how everybody in the fashion world in Paris wanted a piece of Berlin because the coolest people deemed it as The City!
And it was The French touch in music, cinema, comedians, a new garde in architecture, magazines…etc. That generation was building something that wasn’t based on direct references from the 60’s/70’s.

His work changed as LA became more part of his life.

That’s why KVA took a lot of people by surprised because his work wasn’t rock inspired. I remember attending of the early KVA show, where the soundtrack was Malcolm McLaren, I remember men in the attendance saying how it had the spirit of « Les debuts d’Hedi ».

Kris' aesthetic was never Hedi's if we’re being honest - Other than the tailoring aspect, he made it clear from his first collection under his own label that he wanted to dress an athletic guy, within a much different universe than Hedi’s.

Then there was Nicolas, whose interest was more New Wave / Post Punk with a healthy dose of futurism and utilitarian fashion, whose label offered a pretty straight forward continuation of Dior Homme’s and Helmut’s best work. He was quite successful on his own in Asia.

A pity LVMH chose Kris of all the people that worked under Hedi as he was probably the least exciting one in terms of aesthetics.

 

[HigthaVandah]

it was the other way around for me, I can't stand Hedi and yet.. you read some of the posts in the Blazy thread and it makes you long for old-school designers who.. kind of design/have a thought or two. Then I come to this thread and see the fans typing like this to make a point, and I come back to my senses....

This is a Hedi thread, THE FANS SHOULD BE MINDFUL OF THE SPACING BETWEEN THEIR LETTERS AND AVOID UNNECESSARY PUNCTUATION OR DIACRITICALS.

...now get ready for Amazon Luxuries designed by Hedi Slimane.

AMZON PARIS BY HEDI SLIMANE INTRODUCES ITS NEW LINE OF HAUTE PHONE CHARGERS IN ALLIGATOR, MONOGRAMED CANVAS, AND SUPPLE CALFSKIN.

 

[Caffeine]

A bit funny to consider that couture, keeping in mind that sequinned tuxedo jackets were a staple RTW item in Saint Laurent’s permanent collection and regularly seen also at Dior Homme at a reasonable price. A little bit of beaded trimming (even if done in France) should not warrant a garment to be *so* expensive that you only offer it made-to-order…

fwiw what I learned from Celine's SS pieces is that the couture pieces would have more structure inside. They would use corsetry to provide more support. The material is also more special.

 

[Caffeine]

[

In other words, you basically need to undergo a similar relationship building process with a Celine SA so that you get to have a better look at the collection, which you might otherwise not even get the chance to buy, as a substantial part of the runway is made to order and needs to be ordered well in advance (again, garments with beaded trimmings or sequinned tux jackets were regularly produced at Dior and Saint Laurent).

I would totally understand this strategy if we were talking about a mainstream luxury brand that wasn‘t helmed by a designer with a cult following - But this being Hedi, it‘s clear there is a rather dedicated and well informed fanbase thatjust want a clear look and decent access to the product they’re interested in, without the aforementioned hassle.

Actually w/ Celine you don't - I simply inquired. As long as I pay the $ I'll get it. But I didn't feel like paying extra for a made to measure dress - with fewer fittings than my MTM suits! And besides, I'm skinny. I don't need any corsets for support

In addition, I already lost my Celine sales in the first store where I made a purchase. Back when I shopped at Hermes, sales people rarely left. But now with faster turn over, it's difficult to maintain a "relationship". I'm also done w/ the silly "relationship" thing as I have a very busy schedule b/w work and kids. I now shop like a man

In short, if they have it, I'll buy, and if not, no big deal.

 

[Phuel]

I mentioned in the Matthieu Blazy thread that I was not a Hedi warrior, but after reading some of the posts in here and watching the videos shared, I think I may have converted now

A Hedi Justice Warrior LMFAO

Everyone’s been grounded on their Hedi-stanning, I abandoned Dior Homme with the last few collections, but time/age has wisened me to his strengths, so taking the good with the bad— like in any relationship: Just like there’s never going to be the perfect man, there’s never going to be the perfect designer LMFAO And as much as the branding and presentation for his SLP and Celine were always solid— because Hedi’s creative vision was always so ahead of the rest in the 2010s while always remaining so timeless, I never cared for the actual separates. Then there was the hilarious and also kind of sad breakdown rant he posted towards Cathy Horyn on social. She always had a fangirl hardon for Raf while consistently snarking towards Hedi. But I always thought he was better than that to actually let her get to him. And maybe it was then that perhaps Hedi is someone whose talent is more interesting than his personality, behaviour and ego. But time/age has shown that they’re all that way. And that’s fine coz I’m just their retail customer, not their BFF.

(BTW people, just a friendly reminder that Mullet’s Cathy Horyn.)

Kris' aesthetic was never Hedi's if we’re being honest - Other than the tailoring aspect, he made it clear from his first collection under his own label that he wanted to dress an athletic guy, within a much different universe than Hedi’s.

Then there was Nicolas, whose interest was more New Wave / Post Punk with a healthy dose of futurism and utilitarian fashion, whose label offered a pretty straight forward continuation of Dior Homme’s and Helmut’s best work. He was quite successful on his own in Asia.

A pity LVMH chose Kris of all the people that worked under Hedi as he was probably the least exciting one in terms of aesthetics.

Absolutely. Never liked both Nicolas and Kris on their own. Always preferred Hedi when he is more grounded in a classical sensibility for menswear. With superior collections like “Follow Me”/Reflection”/“These Grey Days”, take away the styling and casting— and especially in the case with “Follow Me”, simply throw out all the scarves; hike up the pants a tad; upsize the fit by one; and roll down the sleeves of the suit jacket, and most, if not all the looks are as timelessly, impeccably, immaculately fresh for 2025 as they were for 2003. Can’t say the same for collections that were closer to Nicolas’ sensibility. And Kris had been such a non-event from his very first Dior Homme offering.

 

[Lola701]

Kris' aesthetic was never Hedi's if we’re being honest - Other than the tailoring aspect, he made it clear from his first collection under his own label that he wanted to dress an athletic guy, within a much different universe than Hedi’s.

A pity LVMH chose Kris of all the people that worked under Hedi as he was probably the least exciting one in terms of aesthetics.

I think LVMH chose him because his own brand made quite of a buzz in the Parisian scene.
KVA was a typical number 2 it seems. We have seen it with the various number 2 of fashion. It’s there, it’s solid but it doesn’t do much.
They kept making the jeans, and sneakers and the image was modern so it worked.

Hedi leaving DH also saw the rise of Lanvin (Lucas came from DH right?), Margiela and Dries Van Noten tbh.
Those were the brands where the fashion crowd was gravitating in Paris. Dior became more institutionalized.

And it was around the same era that Prada and Burberry saw a rise in terms of influence.

Of course when Hedi was around and even before him, there were brands that were strong in menswear such as Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Armani, Helmut Lang and others but his success was the proof that menswear could have a louder voice in the landscape and that men were really willing to pay for that and even more that such a radical proposition could appeal to so many people

Because despite the amount of criticism around the skinny silhouette, I saw a lot of men who had no business wearing skinny jeans, wear them and parading proudly.

 

[HigthaVandah]

And maybe it was then that perhaps Hedi is someone whose talent is more interesting than his personality, behaviour and ego.

I'm always surprised to see people here describe the event from Hedi's past that knocked him off the pedestal for them, so to speak. To me the occasional childish lashing out is fully consistent with the autism and emotionally wounded animal vibes that run through Hedi's work. Thirty years of hissing, don't-touch-me sadboy energy and y'all are surprised Hedi's actually like that? Did you think all the sad twinks were a metaphor?