Hedi Slimane - Designer

[Marc10]

Back in the Dior Homme days, he always came across down-to-earth, self-aware and completely relatable. Nowadays... He's kind of creepy; in that middle-aged, sheltered, spoiled brat in an ivory tower who cannot take the slightest of criticism. He's kind of become a caricature of that diva-designer.

I don't really agree. I see him as just introverted, recluse and focused in his work. That's the opposite of a diva designer.

 

[VogueDisciple93]

I read this article hoping I would find something, anything, to explain his actions, to make me understand the madness. By the end I detested him even more. Talk about head up your own a**.
I recently saw a girl wearing a floral dress, blue sweater, and black boots, almost exactly what Edie has on. It was obvious the girl fished the look out of a thrift shop bin or off the floors of Forever 21. Slimane makes an OVERPRICED copy of this look in fabrics that fight the very fiber of grunge, then excuses it as "to dignify street style" and that makes it ok?
I am baffled when people say he has his finger on the pulse, or as this writer exhorbiantly puts it "...he has a sense of the new vanguard of style." What is new about something that was mainstreamed by fashion over 20 years ago? Are some editors so out of touch? Are they so obsessed with being young that they latch onto the ideas of miscreant youths instead of facing and celebrating mature WOMEN? I am the age-group they speak of so often, and amongst us this look is reserved for unbearable hipsters and even more unbearable members of tumblr and lookbook.nu.
I don't need him to follow the house's codes, but to adhere to the fact that this is a high fashion luxury house. The high fashion aspect was lost when he gave us clothes one can readily find in bins, and luxury is more than fine fabrics and techniques, to me anyway. I don't know what Yves would think of the new SLP, nor do I care. Slimane's designs and inspirations have been miserable, Yves approval would not change that.

 

[GIVENCHYlover]

Well, he's the most influential designer right now. A magazine without SL is useless.
Also his resort collection is perfect for a mature woman and the shoes & bags are amazing.

 

[LostInNJ]

I read this article hoping I would find something, anything, to explain his actions, to make me understand the madness. By the end I detested him even more. Talk about head up your own a**.
I recently saw a girl wearing a floral dress, blue sweater, and black boots, almost exactly what Edie has on. It was obvious the girl fished the look out of a thrift shop bin or off the floors of Forever 21. Slimane makes an OVERPRICED copy of this look in fabrics that fight the very fiber of grunge, then excuses it as "to dignify street style" and that makes it ok?
I am baffled when people say he has his finger on the pulse, or as this writer exhorbiantly puts it "...he has a sense of the new vanguard of style." What is new about something that was mainstreamed by fashion over 20 years ago? Are some editors so out of touch? Are they so obsessed with being young that they latch onto the ideas of miscreant youths instead of facing and celebrating mature WOMEN? I am the age-group they speak of so often, and amongst us this look is reserved for unbearable hipsters and even more unbearable members of tumblr and lookbook.nu.
I don't need him to follow the house's codes, but to adhere to the fact that this is a high fashion luxury house. The high fashion aspect was lost when he gave us clothes one can readily find in bins, and luxury is more than fine fabrics and techniques, to me anyway. I don't know what Yves would think of the new SLP, nor do I care. Slimane's designs and inspirations have been miserable, Yves approval would not change that.

Then perhaps you didn't read it very closely. He isn't saying that he created something very new, rather there are tidbits throughout the entire article where the reference between past and present are apparent. From the construction of a garment, to the uproar his collections are causing, it is very much so in the spirit of the house.

While grunge itself isn't a house signature, it is merely one collection out of several that have been presented. It baffles me that people seem to only focus on this one collection. For that matter, I am of the age group they speak of, and while I wouldn't wear many of the looks head to toe, you can break it up and make it your own. So many people take things at face value and refuse to look below the surface and I think that is where the problem begins.

Slimane, if nothing else, is very thoughtful in his approach to the overall realization of a collection, an idea, etc. He is very detail oriented and to quote him from the article, "It's the moment juxtaposed with tradition. That's the house." Whether people want to admit it or not, he is in a way giving us the moment, and you proved that yourself by saying that a girl was wearing something similar on the street. IMO it is irrelevant whether or not she was wearing his designs or not. His idea for the season has translated well, and for the clothes he has designed, they are crafted with a certain technique and level of quality. Yes, grunge is having a bigger resurgence this time around, but it was the same with the 80's at Balmain (which people whined about, but made an impact), so why not this period of fashion?

Personally (if it isn't already obvious), I admire Hedi and I believe he is a very smart man. He doesn't seem to just do things on a whim, there is a thoughtfulness behind his decisions, despite the reaction others may have to the outcome.

 

[VogueDisciple93]

Then perhaps you didn't read it very closely. He isn't saying that he created something very new, rather there are tidbits throughout the entire article where the reference between past and present are apparent. From the construction of a garment, to the uproar his collections are causing, it is very much so in the spirit of the house.

While grunge itself isn't a house signature, it is merely one collection out of several that have been presented. It baffles me that people seem to only focus on this one collection. For that matter, I am of the age group they speak of, and while I wouldn't wear many of the looks head to toe, you can break it up and make it your own. So many people take things at face value and refuse to look below the surface and I think that is where the problem begins.

Slimane, if nothing else, is very thoughtful in his approach to the overall realization of a collection, an idea, etc. He is very detail oriented and to quote him from the article, "It's the moment juxtaposed with tradition. That's the house." Whether people want to admit it or not, he is in a way giving us the moment, and you proved that yourself by saying that a girl was wearing something similar on the street. IMO it is irrelevant whether or not she was wearing his designs or not. His idea for the season has translated well, and for the clothes he has designed, they are crafted with a certain technique and level of quality. Yes, grunge is having a bigger resurgence this time around, but it was the same with the 80's at Balmain (which people whined about, but made an impact), so why not this period of fashion?

Personally (if it isn't already obvious), I admire Hedi and I believe he is a very smart man. He doesn't seem to just do things on a whim, there is a thoughtfulness behind his decisions, despite the reaction others may have to the outcome.

Perhaps you did not read my post correctly, the comments on "new" were not directed at Slimane, they were directed at the editors and writers who tack it on to what he does, as I quoted the writer doing.

I focused on the "grunge" collection as it was the one discussed and photographed in the feature. But for the record, other than his "permanent" collection, I've found them all to be incredibly wanting. These pieces were created to be sold individually, but they were presented as a whole look, as a collective idea. They were strategically styled and edited to project a certain style, era, or kind of person. So I don't think commenting on the image they tried to create is taking it for face value, as it's an important part of any collection. When dissected, other than their construction, most of the pieces are far from remarkable conceptually.

My issue does not lie with grunge, it is with the general lack of creativity the era is being revisited. Van Noten, for example, created a beautiful(!) grunge-inspired collection for S/S '13. He elevated and modernized elements of the period. Slimane on the other hand has just made expensive copies of what came before, this also goes for his S/S '13 collection.

I think we will all view Slimane's work differently based on what we want from fashion, especially high fashion. I want intelligent, harmonious, and innovative designs/ideas with substance. These are lost in Slimane's quest for what's cool, what rockers and the models they attract want to wear.

 

[Deleted member 7575]

I like that he sort of admits that his first few outings may have been missteps. And like GivenchyLover said, resort was a step in the right direction. I'm optimistic.

I thought this article made Slimane far more likable than he has been in the media. Sorely needed pr repairs here.

And I for one am excited to see the couture revived.

 

[LagerfeldBoy]

The article was indeed an interesting read. Idk, but I love Hedi more after reading it. It was great to get a little bit more insight about him when he's come off cold in the past.

 

[Bernadette]

Riccardo Tisci says he loves what Hedi Slimane is doing at Saint Laurent. "He is doing what he has to do," Tisci told Telva November 2013.

 

[5 8 6]

Riccardo Tisci says he loves what Hedi Slimane is doing at Saint Laurent. "He is doing what he has to do," Tisci told Telva November 2013.

Well, Tisci doesn't seem too enthusiastic about it.

 

[Marc10]

I don't think this was posted...

Hypebeast Magazine #4



Late on a Sunday evening in January 2013, Hedi Slimane showed his first men’s collection since leaving Dior Homme six years earlier. Now, as Creative Director of Saint Laurent, Slimane is once more at the beating heart of menswear. On the last day of the Autumn Winter 2013 season in Paris, Slimane took over the Grand Palais. Anyone who’s experienced a Slimane catwalk show immediately recognised the shiny black interiors, thumping rock soundtrack and the anticipation in the crowd. Even the way the models walked in line as the show finished was textbook Slimane. Having seen the Saint Laurent womenswear show a few months earlier, we knew the fundamental direction of Slimane’s vision, but with only a few SS13 pieces available online, this was the first proper menswear debut at his new sartorial home. Having designed Yves Saint Laurent Pour Homme between 1996 and 2000, just before he took the Dior Homme job, this was also return to the mother ship for the Paris-born designer. It was this fact, and the tsunami of expectations, gossip and rumours whipped up by the press, that pitted Slimane against Raf Simons, the new head of Dior’s Ready To Wear, when debuting their womenswear collections in October 2012. But whatever aesthetic you buy into and whoever you support, there’s no denying Slimane’s extraordinary journey and the role he’s played in developing and refining menswear.

In February 2001, almost to the day 54 years after Christian Dior launched his famous ‘New Look’ collection in Paris, Slimane presented his own groundbreaking silhouette, but one aimed at a male clientele. Monsieur Dior revolutionised womenswear in post-war Europe by giving his clothes a nipped-in waist and a voluminous bottom shape. Slimane’s idea of the ideal menswear proportion was of course different, but he shared Dior’s total disregard for what his contemporaries created and, only half a century apart, the two designers craved a fundamental change in direction when it came to Dior’s image, silhouette, business model and all around perception. Both, in their own ways, were successful. But there’s no point in labelling neither Hedi Slimane nor Christian Dior ‘the most influential designer ever’, as is often done, and listing them in order of importance to fashion on a Top Ten list. There are too many designers and brands that have brought something new, ground breaking and exciting to the table to merit such statements; Versace made vulgar chic, Marc Jacobs introduced us to high end grunge, Fred Perry invented the polo shirt, Raf Simons made punk activism look good, BAPE re-generated camouflage, and Helmut Lang and Jil Sander ushered in minimalism etc. These designers, looks and garments all play vital parts in the sartorial family tree, each and every single one pivotal in fusing and forwarding fashion.

Having said that, and to align this text with the Archetype theme of this issue, it is important to acknowledge the effect Hedi Slimane and his ‘New Look Dior Homme’ has had on 21st century menswear. When showing ‘Solitaire’, his first ever Dior collection, in early 2001, Slimane changed the way we wore clothes by proposing not only a new silhouette, but also a new image. His was a new language, and each garment new words in his sartorial vocabulary. Enough has been said about the skinny jeans, slim suits and how a certain fellow designer lost waist to fit into them: these facts are all known and acknowledged. What is new and exciting, though, is what lies ahead. What will the future hold for Hedi Slimane and his loyal followers now that he is the Creative Director of Saint Laurent? The history and career trajectory of Slimane is well known and you’ll need few reminders. Having presented 14 collections for Dior Homme, Slimane declined to renew his contract in July 2007. His former assistant, Kris Van Assche, was installed as head of Dior Homme. The Belgian designer straight away took the label in a more minimal, formal and scaled back direction. Slimane, much like Helmut Lang two years earlier, disappeared from the catwalk scene.

But, unlike Lang who reintroduced himself shortly after as an artist, Slimane went back to his roots, taking up photography again. The art of photography was Slimane’s first love; long before trying his hand at fashion design, Slimane was given a camera, learnt how to develop his own film and quickly established his sharp and monochrome aesthetic. As a with his catwalk collections, Slimane’s photography portrays his worldview: in black and white, the lines are simple and plain. But, looming over the physical motifs, is a feeling of adolescent energy sprung from an urban youth culture, and this can be sensed in all his work, whether it’s fashion, photography, graphics or furniture design. His images are in love with shapes and proportions, and there’s a fascination with details and emotions that can be traced back to his time with Dior Homme. Like all great creatives, Slimane merges different disciplines to form a unique streamlined output; the photography feeds into the fashion, and his catwalk creations influence the images. “Photography is a personal, protected and hermetic space, an independent career both on the level of personal projects and on that, when it is right, of commercial photography. Moreover, this activity is essential for me and naturally informs my activity of fashion creation on a daily basis. The place of photography is thus unchanged and will in particular be meaningful at Yves Saint Laurent, where my photography project will blend in with fashion, in the expression of a signed and renewed image of the fashion house,” Slimane stated in a Vogue Paris interview from August 2012. With his photography and fashion design existing in symbiosis, the young boys Slimane encountered while casting his shows often appeared in books, or on his quite unique website, in an ongoing visual diary of parties, fittings, fashion shoots, films, portraits and what is beautifully labelled as just ‘Rock’.

Looking back at the books Hedi Slimane has published, starting from 2002 and going all the way up to the spring of last year, a handful of cities appear to have been of huge importance to Slimane; you can almost chart his design career based on what city he was obsessed with at the time. Berlin, London and Los Angeles have all played pivotal roles in Slimane’s outlook on life and, therefore, his aesthetic. The early days of Dior Homme – and the last collection he showed while in charge of Yves Saint Laurent’s menswear in the second half of the Nineties – were all about the gritty cyber punk vibes Slimane picked up while spending time in East Berlin. Slimane’s last few seasons with Dior were more anglophilic in its influences as he cast his eyes towards London’s indie elite for inspiration, incorporating The Libertines’ Pete Doherty, Razorlight, Alex Kapranos from Franz Ferdinand, and The Rakes etc. in his Dior Homme vision. Lastly, and this is if nothing else obvious as Slimane still lives there and designs Saint Laurent from his California studio, Los Angeles is the current city where the designer and photographer feels at home: ”I feel fine there, or more precisely, better than elsewhere, curiously at home. I no longer think I could live anywhere else again… Artistically, Los Angeles is without doubt the ‘best’ city today, a constant territory of experimentation,” Slimane said about his new base in the Vogue Paris piece.

davidhellqvist.tumblr

 

[Marc10]

...

But Berlin is really the quintessential Dior Homme city. At a time when electroclash ruled the clubs, Slimane went there to discover a new breed of boys willing to model for him; slim, pale and androgynous, not interested in conforming to the surrounding world’s body conventions and ideas of the perfect male body. The bodies, the music, the jaw lines, the nonchalance, the cigarette smoke, the clothes, the attitude; it all came together in beautiful sartorial harmony. As a leftover from the 90s, muscular and ripped jockey models were still the body shape of choice for big brands. Slimane wanted to challenge that, and a few seasons in, for Autumn Winter 2003’s ‘Luster’ collection, this aesthetic peeked in a show of epic proportions. I was fortunate enough to experience this on a very personal level. A few months before the show, a Saturday night in November 2002, I went with a few friends to London’s Kings Cross to visit a club night called Electric Stew. At this time Kings Cross was still a quite seedy area at night, far from the re-generated hub of creativity it is today, and it was the perfect location for another one of London’s pulsating electroclash clubs featuring live bands and Nag Nag Nag DJs. The genre combined synthpop melodies and techno beats, adding a dash of screeching punk guitars. We brought the attitude, energy and asymmetric haircuts ourselves. While there a tall and slim man walked up to me saying he worked for Dior and asking if I wanted to maybe model in a show? If so, I was to call the phone number he wrote down for me on a piece of paper on Monday morning, and everything would be arranged. I did, and it was. The man who approached was of course Hedi Slimane, but I didn’t know that at the time. He introduced himself in a very humble way, almost like he wasn’t Creative Director of Dior Homme but in charge of casting, or just a staff member. He was very shy, and still comes across as such when you meet him or see rare filmed interviews. This is of course a good trait, it shows that he is in the business for the right reason; his love of designing and creating beautiful clothes; the media circus and attention that follows are merely symptoms of the job. But if he was timid when I met him in the nightclub, Slimane was the complete opposite once I reached the fitting room at the Dior Homme headquarters in Paris in late January 2003. He came across as self-assured, in control and comfortable. As in a dream, I walked into a built-in wardrobe worthy a Hollywood film studio, but with an added mini-catwalk; he had all the clothes, shoes and accessories from the collection laid out when me and the other boys arrived. Slimane was constantly photographing me, other models, the clothes, people and objects around him. If anything, I was the nervous one now. This was new to me and quite scary, but exhilarating at the same time. I was chewing gum when I walked in, probably to calm my nerves, and as I was commanded to walk down the catwalk in different outfits, Slimane spotted my gum. “Why don’t you chew when walking the show”, he said. “It looks natural”. And so I did. At the show venue, the old Carreau du Temple market in Paris’ Republique area, Slimane got involved with every aspect of the show; lighting, set design, seating plans, rehearsals, make up, hair – everything was inspected and signed off by Slimane himself. The actual show is a bit of a haze, I remember entering the catwalk, being blinded by the lights and just walking, trying to straighten up and looking sharp. I do recall the after party at the Pop In bar, though, or at least the early bits.

The ‘Luster’ collection was modelled by, except for street cast boys like myself, a range of the early 00’s top male models. Jack Brennan, David Lindwall and Boyd Holbrook all helped Hedi Slimane usher in his new look and although it naturally wasn’t liked and appreciated universally, Hedi’s boys helped conceive a truly unique look. Creating a darker aesthetic with ‘Luster’, Slimane used heavy leathers, draping, spots of neon colour, textural layering and long oversized wool coats, some of them with golden military regalia details, to fashion a Dickensian yet futuristic look, full of hard attitude mixed with soft fabrics. Not that he is a trusted authority on menswear in any way, but Elton John was spot on when he, interviewed after the show by Tim Blanks, described it as a “grotesque dandy look”. In many ways this was the genius that is Hedi Slimane personified in one collection. But before taking over at Dior Homme, Slimane had – as mentioned – directed Yves Saint Laurent’s menswear collections for a few years. This was just before Tom Ford moved in and took control of both YSL and Gucci, taking Saint Laurent’s menswear in a completely different direction. Yves Saint Laurent’s business and life partner, Pierre Bergé, invited Slimane to take control of the brand’s men’s collection in 1996 having encountered Slimane as he assisted Jean-Jacques Picart on a Louis Vuitton project in the mid 90s. He designed Yves Saint Lauren Pour Homme for several seasons. Although, traditionally, Yves Saint Laurent is a great deal more classic in its silhouette and image compared to Dior Homme, for anyone clever enough to pay attention there were plenty forewarnings of Slimane’s menswear vision to come in his latter Rive Gauche collections. Though many shapes and colour ways whispered of 1970s influences in a 90s packaging, Slimane still managed to translate what he saw as YSL’s heritage and DNA into a contemporary version of the brand. But his last collection for Yves Saint Laurent, AW00’s ‘Black Tie’, was a predominantly dark and moody affair, featuring both slim body-hugging silhouettes and loose proportions, just as his work at Dior Homme. Sleeveless pieces, leather garments and a generous helping of androgyny pointed to what was about to be unleashed. One wonders what would have happened with Yves Saint Laurent had Slimane stayed instead of declining to sign another contract with new owners Gucci Group, today called PPR. But by then, perhaps, he knew about his new lease of life with Dior Homme.

What must have been an attractive prospect, and quite similar to what he is currently doing with Saint Laurent, is the carte blanche he was given in terms of basically re-shaping the brand from scratch. Before Slimane’s arrival at Dior there was no such thing as a Dior men’s Ready To Wear line. Focused more on making suits for a few select and selling silk ties at airports, Dior Monsieur was a non-brand. Slimane changed the name, the fit, the colours, the image, the store interiors, the website, the logo. He changed everything. And, looking at his current venture, that is exactly what he is doing all over again. Once Stefano Pilati was dismissed, Yves Saint Laurent owners PPR – with the blessing of Pierre Bergé - invited Slimane back in to once again take control of the brand, and this time with added creative direction of its womenswear lines. Like Raf Simons, when he as appointed as head of Jil Sander in 2005, Slimane had yet to design any womenswear. Quite tellingly, though, Slimane’s Dior menswear had been popular with a few female celebrities; what Slimane designed for Dior Homme could be re-appropriated as womenswear. According to Paul Deneve, CEO of Yves Saint Laurent, Slimane is the “true successor to Saint Laurent”. And it is easy to see why. Compare the two companies – Slimane’s former employer, Dior, and his current House, Saint Laurent – and the two will throw up more similarities than differences. As two French Ready To Wear and Haute Couture Houses formed in the mid 20th century, they share many fundamental sartorial aesthetics. Yves Saint Laurent worked for Christian Dior for a few years at the end of the 60s and, aged 21, he even took over as Artistic Director for three years when Christian Dior died in 1957. Of course, the directions of both brands are very much defined by who’s heading up the creative direction at the time. Tom Ford, who took over YSL menswear after Slimane in 2000, adopted a luxe 70s feeling for the brand. At Dior Homme, due to the lack of catwalk presence for Dior menswear until then, there was no sartorial blueprint to follow, and Slimane had to ‘invent’ his own Dior Homme look. Traditionally, at least from what we’ve seen so far, Saint Laurent often goes down a more subtle and traditional route. This was also evident in the work of Ford’s predecessor, Stefano Pilati, who scaled back Ford’s sexy heritage. But with Slimane’s first Saint Laurent collection in mind, we can see a continuous desire to infuse a young and rebellious rock attitude in his work.

As Slimane settles in, having redefined and revolutionised menswear with Dior Homme, it will be interesting to see what direction coming collections will take. Especially since Kris Van Assche finally has found his feet at Dior Homme. The Belgian’s first few seasons were arguably safe and uneventful; instead of taking any chances he honed his tailoring skills in the atelier and worked on perfecting the Dior Homme suit. Of late he seems to have ventured outside the studio, looking both backwards to history and forward, into the future, for inspiration. In womenswear, the battle has been pitched as Slimane at Saint Laurent versus Raf Simons’ Dior. The comparison also works for menswear: having had a few years to find his feet, Kris Van Assche’s Dior Homme is now a worthy competitor to Hedi Slimane’s Saint Laurent. It is obvious, considering the name change, website re-design and AW13 collection, that Slimane will aim for that perfect and hard-to-achieve balance between his own distinct design DNA and the brand’s strong heritage. You can tell it’s the work of Hedi Slimane, but you can also spot Yves Saint Laurent himself in the collection. Slimane has taken his trademark approach to classic Saint Laurent pieces; there is a sense of refined luxury presented in an edgy and contemporary way, a bit like when Yves Saint Laurent infused his 60s design with a youthful street spirit. There was plenty of archetype Saint Laurent pieces in the show, with Slimane tracing the linage back to the 60s when YSL was founded, and the 70s when the Yves Saint Laurent aesthetic was cemented worldwide, but adding a dash of 21st century magic. Trench coats, tuxedos, bowties and plastron shirts helped shape the brand, but also made men appreciate luxurious fabrics and fitted garments at a time when directional menswear were all but non-existent. That sudden interest in menswear we talk about today, that male thrill that’s sweeping the globe when it comes to buying directional clothes, a lot of that can be credited to Yves Saint Laurent, and a few of his fellow contemporaries, who helped men subscribe to style; they realised there was more to fashion than wearing a drab uniform of grey and black suits. Before that, clothes were a means to an end, a necessity. Yves Saint Laurent helped change that.

Today, Hedi Slimane does what all great designers have to do: look to the history to create clothes for the future. In order to know what tomorrow will look like we must first understand what happened yesterday, and nowhere else is that as important as when working for such a prestigious House as Yves Saint Laurent. The challenge that Slimane has set himself by going back in time to the 60s through using the old name and the Helvetica logo is how you make such ideas and clothes relevant to 2013. For Slimane, the answer seems to be to continue his excursion into the mind and wardrobe of teenage renegades, young rebels, and adolescent heroes. Looking closer at the AW13 collection, that is exactly what he’s done: gangly indie boys modelling skinny ripped jeans, Cuban heels, cropped leather jackets, moody capes, embroidered army jackets and check shirts. The first Saint Laurent advertising campaign, for Spring Summer 2013 and shot by Slimane himself, also sets out a continued agenda to pursue androgyny and challenge the consumer’s notion of gender and what is meant to be worn by who. The black and white images – portraits as much as fashion imagery – feature Dutch model Saskia de Brauw, a female model who abandoned modelling at the age of 16 to study art at Amsterdam’s Gerrit Rietveld Academie, before returning at the age of 29. The Saint Laurent collaboration is fitting on so many levels; both Slimane and de Brauw left fashion to pursue art and photography before coming back. But the choice of de Brauw and his use of female catwalk models is also important as it reinforces Slimane’s commitment to blurring the gender boundaries - it even pushes the message further as Slimane never used female models while working at Dior Homme. The difference is that the he now also designs womenswear as creative director of the Saint Laurent House. His response to this new job description, the critic’s judgement and resulting spats has been well documented.

Like it or not, Slimane managed to pay homage to Yves Saint Laurent while at the same time injecting his own aesthetic and sartorial vision for Saint Laurent. And for further evidence that Slimane wants to run the men’s and womenswear lines in tandem, a few SS13 items available from the web store are unisex, removing the gender barriers that were set by centuries ago. Having been seduced by Slimane’s dystopian vision back in 2003, I have followed his artistic careers since. I might not have known of him when we met to the tunes of Tiga’s ‘I Wear My Sunglasses at Night’ and Fischerspooner’s ‘Emerge’ at Electric Stew, but ever since then Slimane has been omnipresence on the worldwide menswear stage, always leading and never following. Slimane’s influence was even felt during his sabbatical, shooting covers for AnOther Man, Dazed & Confused, Man About Town and i-D Magazine, to mention but a few. Even when without biannual bouts of rock-influenced clothes, Hedi Slimane managed to stay ahead, in charge and on top of the game. Imagine then, if you like, what he’s able to do now that he once again has the might of a French Ready To Wear House at his disposable. If Slimane is able to keep the Yves Saint Laurent spirit alive while injecting his unique sense of sub-cultural energy, then he will not only keep existing customers but attract a whole new generation of fans: as long as it stays fresh and relevant – a modern take on history – then this might very well be the New Look Mark III.

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[Flashbang]

Hedi Slimane’s controversial yet successful rebranding of the venerable Yves Saint Laurent label is not to everyone’s taste
By Alexander Fury

This evening the Paris autumn/winter 2014 menswear shows close with one of the most eagerly awaited – and frequently criticised – shows of the season: the label formerly known as Yves Saint Laurent. It will be designer Hedi Slimane’s third menswear outing for the house.

Slimane cleaved off the brand’s Christian name when he took the reins in 2011; over the subsequent 18 months, he’s sliced a few decades off its customers’ ages, too, and several notches off their belt loops. His Saint Laurent customers are skinny, first of all. Secondly, they’re young. Thirdly, they’re willing to pay whatever it takes to buy into his reimagined, revitalised house.

It’s a rebranding success story. At least, as far as retail goes. Sales are buoyant: Barney’s New York reported a 60 per cent sell-through on Slimane’s first spring collection. “The leather bikers, bombers and accessories sell out within days of landing online,” comments Damien Paul, MatchesFashion.com’s menswear buyer. Barely two weeks into the spring season, he says: “The bikers from the show have already sold out and we have a waiting list for the boots from the runway.” The overall retail increase is reported to be 40 per cent.

In the stores, Slimane’s Saint Laurent has undeniable hanger appeal. Those leathers are luxurious, cuts skinny and simple. There’s a “permanent” collection that focuses on classic pieces such as slender coats, the signature Le Smoking tuxedo and more youthful pieces such as calfskin Chelsea boots or leopard-print shirts. The rebranded label – Saint Laurent spelled out in Helvetica inspired by the original 1966 Rive Gauche typeface – looks sharp, as do Slimane’s redesigned Saint Laurent retail spaces, all marble and chrome. (London’s Sloane Street boutique is currently undergoing renovation to fit the new template.)

There is a chasm, however, between the hot retail figures and the frostier press reaction. “Sale rack at Primark,” sniped one editor when I asked their opinion. I myself had heard hums of “Topshop” at the last Saint Laurent catwalk show, where short, sparkled mini-dresses were combined with frilled lurex-flecked ankle socks in an ode to familiar indie-girl style.

Slimane is undoubtedly plugged into youth culture. In his previous incarnation as head designer of Dior Homme, between 2000 and 2007, he championed subcultural styles, culling from mod, goth and ska and featured the music of young underground bands discovered on the vibrant London gig circuit. Those included These New Puritans, the Rakes and Razorlight, long before any hit the mainstream.

Slimane transplanted to Los Angeles when he left Dior, which is where his Saint Laurent studio is based. The styles he has proffered, from an opening womenswear gambit of louche hippie chic, through a Lost Boys-tinged menswear offering for spring and a subsequent womenswear show that could, at best, be dubbed groupie chic, all have an LA flavour. They feel familiar, failing to bear the imprimatur of either Saint Laurent or Slimane. But they sell. There’s a demand for them.

Hedi Slimane is tapped into a very specific idea of cool. It works better in his menswear offering, honestly. I’m curious and excited to see what he will show this evening. His work for Dior Homme changed the fashionable silhouette. His rail-thin male models have been the fashion standard for the past decade. “I think customers respond to the authenticity of his viewpoint,” says Damien Paul. “He is totally uncompromising about his aesthetic.”

But Slimane’s tenure has become as known for his extreme reactions to perceived criticism as for the clothing he designs. In 2011, he banned the influential New York Times fashion critic Cathy Horyn from debut shows because of an article in which she commented that his slim tailoring and street casting had a root in the earlier work of Raf Simons. “Mr Slimane objected bitterly,” Horyn wrote. Last year, Slimane severed a 15-year relationship with Parisian boutique Colette because the latter sold a R-shirt with the slogan “Ain’t Laurent without Yves”.

The seating at Slimane’s Saint Laurent shows is also notoriously nepotistic. The presence of friends, such as the American singer and model Sky Ferreira or the British tabloid favourite Pixie Geldof, in front-row seats usually occupied by the fashion press – whose job it is to report and critique Slimane’s work – has caused discord. So, too, has his stalwart refusal to discuss his clothes with any of the fashion press.

“It’s offensive,” stated one member of the press, flatly – but only if anonymity was guaranteed. As with many other journalists, they feared the withdrawal of Saint Laurent’s lucrative advertising budget, and possible banishment from the shows, if they were seen to be critical.

It’s all discomforting. Especially because, while I may be unconvinced by his excursions into womenswear, Slimane’s menswear is once again setting the pace. Along with the aforementioned Raf Simons, and Miuccia Prada in Milan, his Saint Laurent is the most compelling and exciting show of the season. His are the clothes that get us excited. It’s just a pity that the brouhaha Slimane creates so often drowns them out.

independent.co.uk

 

[thercbray]

I'm so over slimane it's sickening. i'm all for reinvention, reinvigoration, rebirth, etc, etc. However, there is a very clearly defined line between rejuvenation and disrespect and I feel a lot of his actions (colette, horyn, LA) have been disrespectful to the house that YVES saint laurent built. If he wants to be so brash, why doesn't he go create his own label and do all that over there. I think he does it because he has the security of being at one of the top heritage couture houses that has a large budget. If he were doing this on his own, I'm fairly certain he would be a bit more considerate of the ones that played a role in his success in the first place.

Don't bite that hand that feeds you...

 

[VersaceVixen009]

Reinvention and reinvigorating a brand can be really great and have a huge impact for the house. Look at Frida Giannini with Gucci,she redesigned a brand that for 13 years that was all only sexy,racy and superglam and transformed it into a luxury brand with a rock n'roll feel as well as going back to the OLD archives. Look at Peter Dundas at Pucci, he's added his own spin of prints and intricate beading while keeping up with signature prints. They're both examples of designers at significant houses who respect their houses's DNA and history as well as adding their own spin on it. It's all about equilibrium.

As for Heidi at Saint Laurent, there is no equilibrium. He's stripped the house of it's nature and seems to do his complete own thing.

 

[bearbrick]

In spite of all this heated debate on this no talent .... Why o why does Pierre Berge still back him ? ...

 

[lowfive1715]

A couple of weeks ago I visited Bal Harbour Shops. I was in a Kering Group boutique and asked about how Saint Laurent was doing. The two sales people somewhat smirked and said horrible. They explained to me that there was already a staff change due to lack of sales and that the boutique is always empty. I decided to go in myself and see if any of this was true. They were completely correct! The store was empty despite the shopping center being packed. After spending about fifteen minutes in there, I noticed that no one had entered the whole time. The sales person was very kind, but kept asking if I wanted to try anything on and that they had any size that I needed (i.e. nothing has sold). The boutique felt of complete desperation!!! I don't believe for a moment that this is the only SL boutique experiencing this. So sad for such a brilliant house. Maybe Slimane will soon get his pink slip?

 

[KKnardi]

A couple of weeks ago I visited Bal Harbour Shops. I was in a Kering Group boutique and asked about how Saint Laurent was doing. The two sales people somewhat smirked and said horrible. They explained to me that there was already a staff change due to lack of sales and that the boutique is always empty. I decided to go in myself and see if any of this was true. They were completely correct! The store was empty despite the shopping center being packed. After spending about fifteen minutes in there, I noticed that no one had entered the whole time. The sales person was very kind, but kept asking if I wanted to try anything on and that they had any size that I needed (i.e. nothing has sold). The boutique felt of complete desperation!!! I don't believe for a moment that this is the only SL boutique experiencing this. So sad for such a brilliant house. Maybe Slimane will soon get his pink slip?

interesting observation, I noticed a similar situation just passing the new york store in soho, I never see anyone inside the store, it's almost intimidating to walk past it cause the staff is always bored and stares at you! hehe.

anyways, I'm not sure if we can draw conclusions about how the sales are going for the house, since we actually haven't seen any of the actual numbers. I guess accessories are doing ok, since I'm seeing a lot of saint laurent bags and shoes. ysl has also, apart from apparel also a successful make-up and beauty line which I guess is selling.

 

[helmut.newton]

The figures and sales for Saint Laurent have risen though from 2012 to 2013, by at least seventy million dollars, so it must be doing well. Most of their profit comes from leather goods, however they do have substantial ready-to-wear sales. Also, the beauty products are licensed by L'Oreal, so not part of the Kering Group, right?

I guess, like with most companies, a designer is hired to create a strong image / unique aesthetic for the brand, which then translates into sales for handbags, shoes, wallets, and so forth (the money makers). Slimane is merely here to drive up profit for the brand, and nothing else. His clothes are "cool" but not intelligent or interesting in any sense. Pilati was the perfect designer for YSL, but unfortunately, Kering got greedy and wanted to capitalise on making profit.

Kering has very cleverly chosen designers who are skilled are creating product that will generate mass sales, in place of designers who are creating art. Just look at what happened at Balenciaga! My guess is that Tomas Maier will be replaced soon enough. Sad story the way the company is going...

 

[GIVENCHYlover]

He's the BEST

In the first half of 2014 ending June 30, Saint Laurent's sales clocked in at 320.6 million euros, 28 percent higher than they were during the same period last year. The brand isn't Kering's fattest cash cow — Bottega Veneta brought in 525.5 million euros and Gucci more than triple that — but it is showing the fastest growth. Bottega's sales grew a solid 17.5 percent, while Gucci's dropped 1.1 percent over the course of the last six months.

Saint Laurent is showing high growth globally, both in Europe (its historical market) as well as Asia Pacific.
fashionista.com

 

[Marc10]

Those are pretty incredible numbers, especially for a brand like Saint Laurent. If it keeps going like this, by next year it has strong chances of talking the #2 spot from Bottega.