Hedi Slimane - Designer

[yslforever]

Am I the only one sensing he might go to Dior ?
After all there are many rumors about Kim Jones and MGC leaving next January and March, and he could have "carte blanche" another time there ? He already knows how Delphine work and LVMH knows how he work.
The corporate at Chanel would never let Hedi have a say at their beauty or fragances campaigns.

 

[Kimihiro]

Am I the only one sensing he might go to Dior ?
After all there are many rumors about Kim Jones and MGC leaving next January and March, and he could have "carte blanche" another time there ? He already knows how Delphine work and LVMH knows how he work.
The corporate at Chanel would never let Hedi have a say at their beauty or fragances campaigns.

Not mad at that, if he could bring the same energy and eye he had early in his Dior Homme era. If there’s anyone who could bring Dior at par with Chanel it’s him.

Design-wise though it would be boring.

 

[TianCouture]

Hedi to LV
NG to Chanel
Done

 

[Irere]

- CHANEL side businesses: CHANEL side businesses (makeup, skincare, fine jewelry, high jewelry, watches) are all managed differently by different teams. Karl had no voice in them and so did Virginie (of course...she could barely design ready to wear, imagine fine jewelry). There is no way a freak control like Hedi would let these side jigs running without putting his mouth and words into it. This means CHANEL would need to reposition / fire so many people, some of them just recently hired (just think of the three ladies group in charge of makeup replacing Lucia Pica).

Au contraire: At Chanel, the fashion is the side business. The Wertheimers are the family that made the perfumes from over a century back, which was the most profitable business ever to bear the name "Chanel." Chanel owns its own jasmine farms, and has its own chemistry labs in multiple countries. Fashion houses licenses fragrances from through major beauty companies (Puig, Shiseido, L'Oréal, Coty, etc.), who then commission them from major manufacturers (IFF , Robertet, Givaudan, Firmenich, Takasago, etc.). But Chanel is vertically integrated to develop and manufacture their products from the field to the bottle. At many houses, the perfumes must compliment the fashion; at Chanel, it is always the other way around.

 

[Irere]

Hedi to LV
NG to Chanel
Done

If Slimane had a falling out with one LVMH company, it's highly unlikely he's going to go straight to another one — though I would love to see him straighten out the embarrassingly crass Louis Vuitton fragrances, which all smell like fruity body sprays for tween girls.

Not mad at that, if he could bring the same energy and eye he had early in his Dior Homme era. If there’s anyone who could bring Dior at par with Chanel it’s him.

Design-wise though it would be boring.

Again, another LVMH company. Since he's bolting from Celine under apparently less-than-amicable circumstances, this seems unlikely. And I don't think he'd be happy with that, either since there is one enduring legacy of his there — the La Collection Privée fragrance line — which began under Slimane at Dior Homme before being brought under the main house. In fact, Slimane's three original scents (Bois d'Argent, Cologne Blanche, Eau Noire) are still sold.

 

[yslforever]

Not mad at that, if he could bring the same energy and eye he had early in his Dior Homme era. If there’s anyone who could bring Dior at par with Chanel it’s him.

Design-wise though it would be boring.

Maybe alongside Galliano at Dior for womenswear.
A complete Y2K revival.
But that's pushing way too far.

 

[FashionPower]

What makes anyone believe that Jacquemus would have what it takes to be a designer with a long term lasting potential for Chanel? 😅

Because Jacquemus would be the perfect "designer" for an heritage brand like CHANEL.
We know most people buy these brands just to flex the tag. It's that or either they are so filthy rich that CHANEL for them is the equivalent of Zara for a conventional person.
They have so many years of archives from both Karl and Coco, they could live by re-releasing every single collection already designed by one of them. What CHANEL really misses right now is a vibe, a story telling, a strong image, something to generate buzz and make it turn iconic and memorable. Jacquemus would be the perfect story teller, the brand does not need someone who can cut haute couture tweed jackets but someone who can turn those jackets into a status symbol.
This is why Karl was the best designer for CHANEL: he had the perfect balance of fashion forwardness, commercial conventional and he always delivered a story or message within his collections that made the clothes stood the test of time.
Do you even remember one single collection or memorable item from Virginie? NO! Because she was not only a very weak designer but also a very bland person incapable of telling a story through the clothes. Virginie was the woman that: "LA inspired collection? Yeah let's do an elevated version of Philipp Plein with gold laminated tracksuits"...yikes.

 

[FashionPower]

Am I the only one sensing he might go to Dior ?
After all there are many rumors about Kim Jones and MGC leaving next January and March, and he could have "carte blanche" another time there ? He already knows how Delphine work and LVMH knows how he work.
The corporate at Chanel would never let Hedi have a say at their beauty or fragances campaigns.

Omg yes I totally forgot about the perfume business at CHANEL!
Can you imagine the briefing meeting with Leena and the marketing team with Hedi for the yearly release of Chanel No.5?
Marketing + Leena: "we were thinking about a superstar to push our most commercial perfume: what about Margot Robbie shot by Meisel? We need a cinema superstar to boost the sales!"
Hedi: "No thank you, I'm gonna have unknown models to the general public Lulu Tenney in a black & white camera shot and a 30 seconds TV commercial with transitions every 2 seconds"

Can you imagine the same situation with MGC at Dior?
Marketing: "Rihanna instead of Charlize for J'adore!"
Maria Grazia: "...but I wanted Ruth Bell and Selena Forrest reading a feminist manifesto in rhyme"

 

[Caffeine]

If it ever happens that it goes to Chanel, at least we know what to expect in terms of fashion and visuals. Maybe he can surprise us with the shows…
Then after 7 years, he will leave.

the itch never fails...

 

[Alquimista]

I understand they need somebody reliable but good luck finding a designer that 'll stay at your house for 30 years

 

[Olaffo]

They’re expecting impossible: 8 collections / year and this b*tch CEO is pushing for additional HC collection + campaigns + special projects etc. On top of that they want someone who will stay there for 10+ years while we’re living now in the time when 3 full years in one position is a success. Please. They either gonna pick some well known name or someone completely obscure. No middle ground for designers jumping from one house to the other.

 

[blueorchid]

Do you even remember one single collection or memorable item from Virginie? NO!

Yes, I do... how could we forget the Chanel garbage bag she designed? It's so horrendous...

 

[Thefrenchy]

I lowkey wants him to go somewhere random like Gucci.

Well... I was in Milan for fashion week and word in the street was that he had just bought a place there... The industry people I was having dinner with speculated he might take over an Italian house... Staying in the shadow for a bit, doing photography for a few years and come back only to take over Armani, maybe? Or in an unexpected turn of events judging by how things ended with Kering: Gucci... Hedi as Gucci's saving grace has a certain ring to it...

 

[Foxie-Pooh]

Would be interesting if he ends up taking over Ralph Lauren. I can see the style synergy over the last few years, especially with his western/cowboy obsessions

 

[yslforever]

Well... I was in Milan for fashion week and word in the street was that he had just bought a place there... The industry people I was having dinner with speculated he might take over an Italian house... Staying in the shadow for a bit, doing photography for a few years and come back only to take over Armani, maybe? Or in an unexpected turn of events judging by how things ended with Kering: Gucci... Hedi as Gucci's saving grace has a certain ring to it...

Hedi for Armani - once Giorgio retires and L'Oréal takes over, Jean-Victor Meyers love him - is a very pleasing idea.
I can't see him going back to Kering.

 

[Lola701]

Hedi for Armani - once Giorgio retires and L'Oréal takes over, Jean-Victor Meyers love him - is a very pleasing idea.
I can't see him going back to Kering.

Armani would be an interesting project for him indeed. The house will need a shock treatment: get rid of Emporio, concentrate on GA & AP and the lifestyle aspect.
Armani is smaller than Celine…

 

[Kerg]

Guys: Hedi said in an interview before (VP ?), that's he's only interested by working for a french fashion house 'cause he feels very "french"... So the italian way ...

 

[Caffeine]

I'm here to say that the suspension is now killing me

 

[Vikingtop]

Hedi will never move back to Kering.... the relationship was really difficult at the end.

Hedi will not go back to Lvmh.....i think that lvmh announced Michael Rider so shortly after Hedis exit might be a clear sign for a difficult relationship with lvmh at the end...

 

[Denjo]

Armani would be an interesting project for him indeed. The house will need a shock treatment: get rid of Emporio, concentrate on GA & AP and the lifestyle aspect.
Armani is smaller than Celine…

I think Armani would be perfect for Stefano Pilati, its a very natural choice imho ( a dream would be Phoebe doing the womenwear but I don’t see it happening...)
I would be very intrigued by Hedi at Gucci. The ancora limbo could serve as a palate clenser and I think his aesthestic, although very french, could match what the ancora guy was trying to do. Quoting Alessandro Gucci is en empty box, you can put it what you want...