Hedi Slimane - Designer

[fashionista-ta]

It's the reason I find it strange he is not at a big house already. He is not hiding, but there have been no rumors about him being a contender for any maajor job, either, right? If it is, indeed, his own choice, then more power to him, and I hope he comes back when he feels ready.

Dior approached him, right? I'd call that a major job, but he's been vocal about not being ready. Remember he said he couldn't even sketch, and I think that was a year out from the Lanvin break ... plus he's said he wants to work in a different way and (paraphrasing) not work with unpleasant people.

 

[Caffeine]

Nobody forget it. Hedi is a genius. He has a vision, he can deliver a show and what he does is always slick.
He is a wonderful menswear designer. A lot tried but nobody can do what he does the way he does. BUT he is an awful womenswear designer and that's my concern.

Of course his clothes are well made but i'm sorry: this is exactly what i expect from any luxury fashion house. Add to that, given the simplicity of his clothes and the obvious lack of imagination or fantasy in his clothes.

I will be the number supporter of Hedi when he will decide to design womenswear. And, i've said design.

Agreed. I recall women buying Dior Homme back in the days.
But what he designed for YSL women was LA trashy. Sorry for the harsh words but most clothes just look like high end prostitute outfits.
Somehow they did sell very well!

Will be interested in his new venture at Celine. I have a feeling that it will be either hit or miss.

 

[fashionista-ta]

I don't see how SL clientele were fashion victims? That's the Vetements/ Gucci lane. Hedi's clothes were very simple (maybe too simple for some), they were all very well made and there was something for everyone.

The bulk of the RTW sales as I understand it were not the (IMO) trashy looks on the runway, but Dior Homme-style tailoring, which he's actually good at ...

 

[Lola701]

Dior approached him, right? I'd call that a major job, but he's been vocal about not being ready. Remember he said he couldn't even sketch, and I think that was a year out from the Lanvin break ... plus he's said he wants to work in a different way and (paraphrasing) not work with unpleasant people.

Above all, he seems to be very fragile or very sensitive. I mean, he still talking about being fired by Tom Ford in 2000...18 years ago!

So i believe that being in such an environment that was Lanvin where he was close with the owner and had a real pleasure to work to finally be fired and having a lot of issues, was difficult to handle.

I feel like he is going to comeback when he will be ready and above all, when and where he will feel safe and protected.

The problem in the fashion industry is that most of the time, designers have to deal with people who a running a business without coming from that business. The designer is the only person that knows what people want, will want or don't want. The business mind's job is to make sure that everything is in place in order to make the voice of the designer heard. Unfortunately today, a lot of executives thinks that they knows what should be done...

 

[vetements]

This is probably the most exciting news in a long while, esp with the lacklustre new designers’ showings at Lanvin, Givenchy, Saint Laurent etc.

I am however pretty sure hedi won’t be sending out rock and roll aesthetics, his pride wouldn’t let him? I do believe he has grown with his tenure at saint laurent. And I do prefer what he did there than vacarello now.

So excited with anticipation for his new looks, and like someone said, the meltdown this site is going to get from the hedi haters hahaha

 

[Lola701]

This is probably the most exciting news in a long while, esp with the lacklustre new designers’ showings at Lanvin, Givenchy, Saint Laurent etc.

I am however pretty sure hedi won’t be sending out rock and roll aesthetics, his pride wouldn’t let him? I do believe he has grown with his tenure at saint laurent. And I do prefer what he did there than vacarello now.

So excited with anticipation for his new looks, and like someone said, the meltdown this site is going to get from the hedi haters hahaha

Fingers crossed...
But for menswear i think it's great. He could actually elevate it. Because i'm seriously tired to see Hedi's copies on the runway. Amiri or whatever is literally a copycat brand of Slimane. So if he can force some people to be original on their own by doing his rock thing FOR MEN, ok!

 

[MulletProof]

what a way to sink the brand... he's the least qualified person to take over Phoebe, who seems to understand women's dressing infinitely more than any other women and men in her range of commercial fashion.. Hedi's girls only exist for the purpose of embellishing the blond/modelesque rockstar his suburban French self is still so obsessed with, they have no other mission and they dress accordingly.. he has no proved experience or an idea of how to design for women. To say he has grown as a designer after SL? grown how? his last collections were still slip dresses and don't even get me started on the last one, which was EXACTLY what I'm talking about.. pointless women in fugly getups they can't move in and that seem made for waiting outside the backstage area like the ultimate aspiration.

his fanbase is mostly dudes so I will not be surprised to read the seasonal "okay, BUT THE CUT!".

That being said.. it's true it's hard to gather inspiration in LA.. when you have 10 minutes of sun per month in the winter and odious people on the streets, you'd be stupid not to extract or just come up with one interesting thought locked up in your studio or in the second best place (a museum). He should move back..

 

[Yohji]

That's another brand I'm no longer interested in.

 

[HeatherAnne]

what a way to sink the brand... he's the least qualified person to take over Phoebe, who seems to understand women's dressing infinitely more than any other women and men in her range of commercial fashion.. Hedi's girls ...

That's my biggest issue here, Celine remained one of the last fashion houses that still aimed their market at WOMEN and not teenagers. For that reason, Hedi Slimane, who has made a living selling a teenager aesthetic since his Dior Homme days seems like the worst possible choice here. Another brand sells it's soul to the Instagram age. Oh well.

 

[dcmaike]

Chanel is really commercial, always the same, uncreative clothes, everything is about the Setting and a brand Teenagers love, so I think Hedi would have been a better choice for Chanel than for Céline, where its actually about the clothes.

 

[Les_Sucettes]

From a positive point of view for Zara and H&M "design" departments this is such huge great news!! It´s easier copying Slimane than Phoebe´s work!

They actually won’t need to, they just need to search the archives. Half the clothes of his “grunge” collection came straight from 90’s Zara. That’s a twist i never saw coming.

 

[george5]

I was convinced that all the time He's been supposedly working on a brand new Menswear line was Chanel pour Homme so It's quite surprising how this turned out...

I certainly acknowledge Phoebe's contribution to the brand and everything She did there but You have to keep in mind that Céline is a blank space and anyone can come in and start anew; Actually, the fact that Hedi went for this instead of Dior or Givenchy sounds like He (sort of) wanted his own line but without his name on it. Hopefully He'll go back to his roots and this become a personal project like Dior homme in the beginning.

 

[jeanclaude]

They actually won’t need to, they just need to search the archives. Half the clothes of his “grunge” collection came straight from 90’s Zara. That’s a twist i never saw coming.

Yes, of course all they need is to add the "new" ornaments of the season to the archival patterns...et voilà Céline by Slimane!

 

[Lola701]

I was convinced that all the time He's been supposedly working on a brand new Menswear line was Chanel pour Homme so It's quite surprising how this turned out...

Karl has said many times that he has life-long contracts with Chanel & Fendi. I guess people believes him now.
Chanel doesn't need a proper, big menswear line.

 

[just me]

I guess he will show the same grunge thing under the Celine name. I don’t expect anything remotely interesting coming from Hedi.

 

[lewak]

I think both Slimane and Arnault desire to create a new Couture legacy.....

Arnault tried with Lacroix and it was a failure. He still has that challenge to tick off on his wish list. Slimane is the right man for this.

 

[TaylorBinque]

What a great twist here. Now I wonder where Jacquemus will be at.

On one hand, I really don't like his work at YSL. Of course, I can appreciate his abity to reinvent the house financially and relevancy. It was very well-made, some couture pieces were really wonderful and womenswear was great. Especially the LA collection. However, I'm both scared and excited of what he would bring to the table at Celine. He's given a free rein here with more product line to play with. It's basically a Hedi brand under Celine name. Even at YSL, the cosmetics is still owned by L'Oreal. But the perfume will be created in house so it's very exciting.

I think Pheobe has created a multi-dimensional Celine women. I got to say that not only she can do magic with clothes but the accessories are fabulous. The Celine women is very unique and distinctive. I think that would be a challenge for put this voice in to it because I really don't think people who buy Celine clothes are the same people who buy his Saint Laurent clothes. But I might be wrong, but if Sidney wants to double the figure, he would need both to maintain Celine cult and his own following.

 

[Benn98]

Wow, what a shock! And not in a good way at all. Yet another gem for him to pollute! I hated what he did at SLP with that LA rocker thing, and Dior Homme, so for me the idea that he's adding menswear to Céline is blasphemous! And since contemporary consumers won't have any idea what Celine menswear actually stands for it gives him more reason for him to pull ideas from a hat.

He'll have to move to Paris for this job, surely. Too much at stake.

 

[pellucid]

Why he was chosen to succeed Phoebe is truly beyond me. He should stick to B&W photography of celebs and hip LA people or launch his namesake label instead of ruining another iconic French brand.

 

[GivenchyHomme]

Better than Jacquemus. I feel like Hedi will take Celine into a very adult direction. He can’t do the same thing he did at YSL. The menswear will be red hot. That was a very smart move for LVMH.