Hedi Slimane - Designer

[Lola701]

I find rather unsurprising that you ended up buying such an outfit when (through the examples of Helmut and Jil) it‘s always been clear to me that Hedi‘s womenswear-specific offerings are but an afterthought of his menswear design approach (similar to when people like Kris Van Assche, Nicolas Andreas Taralis, Neil Barrett or Juun J. design womenswear from a very menswear-oriented point of view). For me it‘s clear that you go to him for great tailoring, separates, a great boot with a comfortable height etc. - Perhaps it‘s also a cultural thing, as coming from the perspective of middle/northern Europe or Asia, women often prefer a look that is less feminine and frivolous. A lot of women I know never wear a shoe with a heel and barely wear make-up at all.

When he accepted Saint Laurent and Celine in the fashion climate, it came with the demands that it needed to work on a global market, where before he did not have to stretch his creativity much at Dior (other than the sneakers and printed t-shirts I never cared much for). I still look with estrangement at certain products that to me clearly read as an effort to have something to sell, say, in the Middle East where his vision might be a tough sell.

His womenswear is almost all styling exercises, more than how his last two tenures could be argued as wholly such. Not that they’re not effective.

I know many of his menswear customers who’d rather have the direction he had at Celine womenswear. They were complaining that the menswear was too ‘avant-garde’ and not classic Hedi. Personally I find his menswear work at Celine far better than at Saint Laurent (2.0). There was some form of challenge.

The irony about his work is that I bought some womenswear from his Saint Laurent. In reality, while the offering at Celine was very much consistent, it was very « elevated basics » in a way and when I look at the collections that I enjoyed, they were maybe too bourgeoises and almost too Chloe-like for me.
In reality, Hedi’s womenswear doesn’t have the edge that his presentation suggests.

This is the look I bought from the menswear.
I was attracted by the styling, the unusual combination and cut. I wore it with leopard pumps (im not that much of a rock chick) and my Paco Rabanne chelsea/cowboy boots.


It’s a pity that we never got this kind of bold and yet subtle proposition from him as a womenswear designer ever.

But I think Hedi is the perfect designer for basics. I wanted a specific Car Coat, I saw it at Celine and Burberry. He does the best peacoats for men, jeans and things like that and as I said, he has the talent to present it in a way that feels fashion despite it all being basics.

 

[kasper!]

Will Hedi sell his real estate in Milan now? Since he is not coming to Gucci.

 

[louis]

Probably heading to ARMANI in 2 years…

 

[JohannesL]

Did he really audition for Chanel, Dior and Gucci? If he is so desperate for heading a fashion house, he might have a chance at Valentino when Michelle is kicked out.

 

[Avonlea]

Please no. Why would he go there? He is the antithesis of Armani. I hope Giorgio had already thought about his successor and won't let Hedi turn his house into another generic luxury lifestyle brand.

 

[Lola701]

Did he really audition for Chanel, Dior and Gucci? If he is so desperate for heading a fashion house, he might have a chance at Valentino when Michelle is kicked out.

It’s a rumor.
Hedi never auditioned for anything before so the idea of him auditioning for Chanel or Dior is ridiculous. He is known for his ego so auditions, never. I strongly believe that he wasn’t approached by Chanel because it would have mean auditioning.

But there are rumors that he was in talks for Gucci. It’s possible. Maybe his terms weren’t met by Kering and they chose Demna. Because clearly, Demna is a last minute choice.

 

[Monsieur Cristobal]

^ We most probably will never know, but my feeling was the opposite: Hedi was approached by Chanel at a certain point, but it gave nothing. Maybe because they couldn't reach an agreement on something that was fundamental for both parties... Creation of menswear? Total control of the fragrances and cosmetics?
Mystery.
But Chanel was in Hedi's mind when he did his swansong for Celine.

While I agree that Demna feels like a last minute choice, in this case my feeling goes to a "either Demna or Vacarello".
I can imagine Kering, forced to play the card "star designer" for the first time after the Sabato disaster, turned to their own stables.
Even though Demna had brought an incredible commercial boom to Balenciaga, specially preCovid, Vacarello sounded like a smoother transition from Gucci's last collection (officially by the studio, in reality a classic Sabato show twisted with a lot of vacarellisms). It would have made believable the story "we were preparing the territory with Sabato".

But if they approached Anthony, Anthony was not interested or preferred to continue at Saint Laurent (the brand doesn't feel exhausted, unlike Balenciaga under Demna).

What we have now, and that's why everybody is shocked, is the most brutally commercial and controversial designer, after Sabato's insipid and anonymous tenure, that was allegedly the foundation of the future of Gucci.

In any of these cases, when you are Hedi, Demna or Anthony, you don't audition, of course.

 

[HigthaVandah]

^ We most probably will never know, but my feeling was the opposite: Hedi was approached by Chanel at a certain point, but it gave nothing. Maybe because they couldn't reach an agreement on something that was fundamental for both parties... Creation of menswear? Total control of the fragrances and cosmetics?
Mystery.
But Chanel was in Hedi's mind when he did his swansong for Celine.

While I agree that Demna feels like a last minute choice, in this case my feeling goes to a "either Demna or Vacarello".
I can imagine Kering, forced to play the card "star designer" for the first time after the Sabato disaster, turned to their own stables.
Even though Demna had brought an incredible commercial boom to Balenciaga, specially preCovid, Vacarello sounded like a smoother transition from Gucci's last collection (officially by the studio, in reality a classic Sabato show twisted with a lot of vacarellisms). It would have made believable the story "we were preparing the territory with Sabato".

But if they approached Anthony, Anthony was not interested or preferred to continue at Saint Laurent (the brand doesn't feel exhausted, unlike Balenciaga under Demna).

What we have now, and that's why everybody is shocked, is the most brutally commercial and controversial designer, after Sabato's insipid and anonymous tenure, that was allegedly the foundation of the future of Gucci.

In any of these cases, when you are Hedi, Demna or Anthony, you don't audition, of course.

I could see Hedi's last women's show as a "look what you could've had" rather than an audition. I would put it last him to have demanded separate mens couture shows.

But when you say Hedi/Demna/Vacc don't audition, would they not still need to agree with the suits on a general design arc or approach for their contract length? To take Hedi's Celine as an example, wouldn't the suits have agreed (or proposed with Hedi's agreement) to make the Triomphe a recognizable logo, agreed to make the first show very YSL-y for the drama before changing to an aesthetic that made more sense as a progression from Phil's Celine, agreed on the general direction of the fragrance line, etc? Or is decision making more season-to-season than I imagine?

 

[Kimihiro]

I could see Hedi's last women's show as a "look what you could've had" rather than an audition. I would put it last him to have demanded separate mens couture shows.

But when you say Hedi/Demna/Vacc don't audition, would they not still need to agree with the suits on a general design arc or approach for their contract length? To take Hedi's Celine as an example, wouldn't the suits have agreed (or proposed with Hedi's agreement) to make the Triomphe a recognizable logo, agreed to make the first show very YSL-y for the drama before changing to an aesthetic that made more sense as a progression from Phil's Celine, agreed on the general direction of the fragrance line, etc? Or is decision making more season-to-season than I imagine?

Hedi definitely presents a gameplan. That might be called an audition. For Saint Laurent for example, he had a script written for how he wants the house to be. I want to know if the second Celine show was intentional or made because of the backlash. After all the soundtrack to that show just says “j'ai un plan” ad nauseam.

Of course his name came up at Chanel, but we don’t know if there were any serious talks. Everyone in the industry knows what Hedi is. That’s why as much as I am fine with him at Gucci, I don’t think he’ll be there for the simple fact that the actors present when he left are still there and more powerful (Bellettini). They will never give the keys to a designer with executive oversights.

 

[Monsieur Cristobal]

Sorry for that last bit about auditioning, if it was confusing.
What I meant is that there is a difference between sending your cv, or submitting your project for consideration, amongst several other candidates, and receiving a call because they want you.
Even in Hedi's or Demna's case, you always have to explain your point of view.

 

[Lola701]

^ We most probably will never know, but my feeling was the opposite: Hedi was approached by Chanel at a certain point, but it gave nothing. Maybe because they couldn't reach an agreement on something that was fundamental for both parties... Creation of menswear? Total control of the fragrances and cosmetics?
Mystery.
But Chanel was in Hedi's mind when he did his swansong for Celine.

While I agree that Demna feels like a last minute choice, in this case my feeling goes to a "either Demna or Vacarello".
I can imagine Kering, forced to play the card "star designer" for the first time after the Sabato disaster, turned to their own stables.
Even though Demna had brought an incredible commercial boom to Balenciaga, specially preCovid, Vacarello sounded like a smoother transition from Gucci's last collection (officially by the studio, in reality a classic Sabato show twisted with a lot of vacarellisms). It would have made believable the story "we were preparing the territory with Sabato".

But if they approached Anthony, Anthony was not interested or preferred to continue at Saint Laurent (the brand doesn't feel exhausted, unlike Balenciaga under Demna).

What we have now, and that's why everybody is shocked, is the most brutally commercial and controversial designer, after Sabato's insipid and anonymous tenure, that was allegedly the foundation of the future of Gucci.

In any of these cases, when you are Hedi, Demna or Anthony, you don't audition, of course.

For me the Chanel Hedi conversation has always been great for the books and nothing else. It’s a good story telling situation.
Chanel was never going to change the structure of their company, structure that has been set in the 70’s for Hedi.
Even more that Pavlovsky as the president de La Chambre Syndicale has access to a plethora of designers. I strongly believe that those Chanel/Slimane discussions didn’t happened but maybe history will prove me wrong because it would have been a total waste of time anyway.
I think the last collection thing despite looking like an audition is more of a testament of what influenced Hedi’s aesthetic than anything else. The collection was bourgeoisie and Chanel was at one point the uniform of a certain bourgeoisie.
And I don’t think Hedi has broke ties with Arnault either…

Who ever came after Ancora is a last choice anyway. Because Balenciaga needed Demna to leave already when Ancora took over Gucci. I was really surprised when the name of Hedi was introduced in the conversation because the new CEO doesn’t seem like the type to stay in the background…

However, it is said that Demna made a proposal that convinced. And despite what everybody make of his status, he is very different to Hedi. Hedi don’t audition but Demna doesn’t have his status and his track record.
You don’t approach Hedi to be convinced. You approach him with the idea of choosing him. With Demna you have to be convinced because precisely they didn’t consult him the first time around.

When you want a person like Hedi, you pick up the phone like Tom Ford did with Haider, set a rdv at a fancy restaurant and discuss the matter and then it’s open bar for your project to star. Of course he has a game plan as @Kimihiro said but for me it’s not an audition.

 

[HigthaVandah]

Hedi definitely presents a gameplan. That might be called an audition. For Saint Laurent for example, he had a script written for how he wants the house to be. I want to know if the second Celine show was intentional or made because of the backlash. After all the soundtrack to that show just says “j'ai un plan” ad nauseam.

Of course his name came up at Chanel, but we don’t know if there were any serious talks. Everyone in the industry knows what Hedi is. That’s why as much as I am fine with him at Gucci, I don’t think he’ll be there for the simple fact that the actors present when he left are still there and more powerful (Bellettini). They will never give the keys to a designer with executive oversights.

Thanks for the clarification. My gut says if not intentional, then it was at least an instinctive way of clearing artistic space for Hedi to do his thing. It shifted the overton window so everything Hedi did after that was compared to his first show and looked much more appropriate for the house in comparison. Still, the extent of the change might have been in response to the criticism.

Tangentially, I've always thought that first show, while copied from his YSL, tweaked those YSL designs just enough to say "this is what that show would have looked like if I'd done it for Celine." The same collection, but this time through the lens of (Hedi's ideas about) the spirit of the house of Celine.

 

[Kimihiro]

Tangentially, I've always thought that first show, while copied from his YSL, tweaked those YSL designs just enough to say "this is what that show would have looked like if I'd done it for Celine." The same collection, but this time through the lens of (Hedi's ideas about) the spirit of the house of Celine.

I might be in the minority but I loved what he did for menswear in that first collection. It was more sophisticated than anything he did at YSL. Fits were still tight but loosening up. I loved the cropped jackets. I loved how it was a more exaggerated version of Hedi’s silhouette. My favorite pants he made were from that show. I still wear them regularly.