Hedi Slimane - Designer

[bc collector]

Armani liked him and was corresponding via Armani candle light handwritten letters with Hedi like his beloved lost twink son :-)

Provided this piece of gossip is true at all, it has no relevance whatsoever.

I mean, style-wise, can oil and water go together?

 

[PDFSD]

Provided this piece of gossip is true at all, it has no relevance whatsoever.

I mean, style-wise, can oil and water go together?

who knows but its funny if it was true.

Oil and water do go together ever tried a watercress salad?

 

[Phuel]

Jean Claude-- have a gander at Nicolas' x MAS' trolling Vuitton costumes and it really is the fashion equivalent to Stock Aitken & Waterman's music.

The drape and the sharper pleats. I'm in.
Would love to see him come back to fashion as a counter to this look of Phoebe Philo/The Row/Lemaire/Bottega/New-Chanel hell we are in.

Giorgio and Hedi understand the shoulders while all the ones you’ve mentioned seemed to want to destroy it for the sake of fashion. And more importantly, Hedi and Giorgio been consistent that the shoulders is where a silhouette starts. And from his Dior Homme to his last Celine women’s , that shoulder has never betrayed Hedi's silhouette. He may be a lot of things— but he’s never abandoned, neglected, nor forgotten how to cut.

I think the real challenges for Hedi is 80s Armani (his height), Armani’s ethos is clearest in that decade. If as rumor has it he worked directly with Giorgio then hopefully he's taught well. Hedi is a visionary so I hope he adapts to it.

The 80s was when Giorgio broke through and revolutionized fashion, both for the industry and for culture, and everyone took noticed of the design. But the 90s was when he refined his signatures to the finest of detail, cut and fit that defined his silhouette where everyone noticed the wearer. The latter is more important, more so now when fashion and designers are so desperately racing to conjure that one viral design that no one in their right mind would wear IRL— but it’s instantly recognizable because it’s so silly and so foolish: Pieter’s Alaia condom. That nonsense is what Azzedine Alaia has been reduced to in 2025. The brand Giorgio Armani would never.

 

[PDFSD]

Jean Claude-- have a gander at Nicolas' x MAS' trolling Vuitton costumes and it really is the fashion equivalent to Stock Aitken & Waterman's music.



Giorgio and Hedi understand the shoulders while all the ones you’ve mentioned seemed to want to destroy it for the sake of fashion. And more importantly, Hedi and Giorgio been consistent that the shoulders is where a silhouette starts. And from his Dior Homme to his last Celine women’s , that shoulder has never betrayed Hedi's silhouette. He may be a lot of things— but he’s never abandoned, neglected, nor forgotten how to cut.



The 80s was when Giorgio broke through and revolutionized fashion, both for the industry and for culture, and everyone took noticed of the design. But the 90s was when he refined his signatures to the finest of detail, cut and fit that defined his silhouette where everyone noticed the wearer. The latter is more important, more so now when fashion and designers are so desperately racing to conjure that one viral design that no one in their right mind would wear IRL— but it’s instantly recognizable because it’s so silly and so foolish: Pieter’s Alaia condom. That nonsense is what Azzedine Alaia has been reduced to in 2025. The brand Giorgio Armani would never.

agree so much on the importance of a well cut shoulder for tailoring and outerwear even, even in dress making the shoulder is the base for the balance....but explain this to a shein crowed on social media that likes only instant effects fashion looks yes !!!iconic lol

 

[Kanzai]

The drape and the sharper pleats. I'm in.
Would love to see him come back to fashion as a counter to this look of Phoebe Philo/The Row/Lemaire/Bottega/New-Chanel hell we are in.

Leave Philo/The Row/Lemaire alone, they are good. They are more “Armani” than Hedi, ironically.

 

[Phuel]

^^^ Well Kanzai, as much as I may appreciate Phoebe, she did rip off Giorgio wholesale with her men’s suit and coat. And I’d imagine her Giorgio Armani would simply be starightup replicas of his collections from the 90s… And Lemaire's women is fantastic. But all one needs to expose his men’s 80s mallwear is google generic men’s fashion circa1989 (via Pitti Uomo).

Just a reminder of how Giorgio and Hedi compliment one another: Hedi's is the more aggressive, while Giorgio’s is gentler side of the same silhouette.


Celine @Kimihiro

 

[Kanzai]

^ But In terms of design spirit, the simplicity, the comfort in the clothes – Phoebe is closer to Armani than to Hedi’s sharp, cool edge. Phoebe ripped off a lot of designers, but she’s talented enough to make it her own hahah. Armani in the 70s, 80s and 90s didn’t use much embellishment or decoration. That probably changed when he launched his Couture line in 2005, when he's already 71. I think his admiration for Hedi at Dior Homme (and Rick at that time) also influenced his aesthetics afterward, making them much more sensual compared to the graphite, desert-toned simplicity of his past decades. Still I’d be happy if Hedi comed to Armani, he could make the house thrive more than ever.

 

[fruitdots]

Hedi does not have the capacity to pull off Armani. He's not competent enough with colour or prints, and I don't think his sensibility is close enough to Armani's. Sure, he could do a passable impersonation of an Italian designer, but they come from different universes. Armani's work was very influenced by Japanese designers, particularly Issey Miyake, and that ethos is worlds away from Slimane's. He'd absolutely gut the brand.

 

[PDFSD]

L’Oréal is “ready to consider discussions with the ARMANI Group as set out in Mr Armani’s will”, which envisages an initial 15% stake, according to the cosmetics group’s CEO, Nicolas Hieronimus. On Sunday, L’Oréal announced the biggest acquisition in its history: the €4 billion purchase of the luxury group Kering’s beauty division.

“The acquisition of Kering’s beauty business does not change our intention to support the Armani group, nor does it affect our financial capacity,” Nicolas Hieronimus confirms in an interview with Le Figaro. On Tuesday, after the close of trading, the group will present its third-quarter sales, expected to show an increase of 1.5% to €10.4 billion, according to a Bloomberg consensus of analysts.

The CEO also sent a message to the Armani group, assuring the group that “this partnership with Kering strengthens L’Oréal Luxe across the beauty ecosystem and will also benefit Armani. As with each of our brands, a dedicated team will continue to manage Armani.” L’Oréal holds the Armani beauty licence, whose sales total €1 billion.

The selected shareholder will then have the opportunity to take control of the group, one of the last remaining independent players in luxury, by acquiring between 30% and 54.9% of the remaining capital. If this sale – planned for three to five years after the will is opened – does not take place, the designer requested in his will that his company be listed on the stock exchange.

“It is not our role to be a fashion operator, and that has not prevented us from taking a minority stake of around 10% in Jacquemus,” notes Nicolas Hieronimus.

“We could make this investment in Armani on our own or with a partner,” he adds. “I want Armani fashion to grow and its style to evolve, under the leadership of its new CEO, Giuseppe Marsocci, whom I know well.”

Giorgio Armani, who died on 4 September, asked his heirs to sell “a 15% stake” to a fashion giant such as LVMH, L’Oréal or EssilorLuxottica “between 12 and 18 months after the will is opened”.

via cpp-luxury.com

 

[jeanclaude]

Jean Claude-- have a gander at Nicolas' x MAS' trolling Vuitton costumes and it really is the fashion equivalent to Stock Aitken & Waterman's music.

Try to dance while wearing Nico+Mas trademark piles of clothes on...!

 

[jeanclaude]

Hedi does not have the capacity to pull off Armani. He's not competent enough with colour or prints, and I don't think his sensibility is close enough to Armani's. Sure, he could do a passable impersonation of an Italian designer, but they come from different universes. Armani's work was very influenced by Japanese designers, particularly Issey Miyake, and that ethos is worlds away from Slimane's. He'd absolutely gut the brand.

I agree with this; but the point is that Giorgio was a disaster when choosing prints and mixing colours too...so Hedi could fit in! 😅

 

[Kanzai]

^ A fan of Giorgio but I can’t the deny the fact that he’s horrible in mixing colours lol. Esp those circus theme couture collections omfg.

 

[PDFSD]

for those interested :-)


via Susanna Nicoletti
Armani and Slimane, beyond the gossip...

As I was taken by surprise by the viral attention that my SUNDeLuxe newsletter on Slimane and Armani got by the general public - so that prestigious media like MF Milano Finanza and Dagospia and several fashion influencers dedicated their precious time to it - I published today a follow up on my analysis which takes to very interesting reflections on dynamics that are bigger than Hedi joining a Milanese, secluded fashion house (something that could scare many people in the establishment a lot anyway).

Follow the money and the tug of war!

You know I don't do gossip, I am not a reporter nor a journalist, I am a business analyst and I focus on understanding the dynamics behind the fashion business today.

I am not in search of visibility/power/dollars/followers otherwise I would have chosen another route 😉 but this fun fair has been very interesting and allowed me to research about key questions around the future of the Giorgio Armani house.



This extra newsletter is about the buzz and the craze created by my newsletter on the mystery of Hedi Slimane appointment at Armani as highlighted by Trussarchive on Instagram. And some further reflections…you know I am not interested in buzz and hype nor gossip, I am focused on fashion business analysis and the dynamics of this industry. And I got some interesting reflections on this mystery and the situation is more complex than just gossip, so let’s give it a go!

There are industry insiders who know that he is there, as they publicly write on Linkedin, and there is a company struggling to make a global official statement and there is yours truly who, while preparing university classes, has to deal with the matter. Armani press office told an Italian media, Milano Finanza, that the appointment is not true but we know how it goes and we will see. And the Armani press officer is there checking Instagram accounts and writing “not true” from her personal account which is even weirder and it goes against the usual corporate communication rules. It’s not done until it is officially communicated, but...

As we know this frivolous world is always ready to over react to the nomination of a very polarizing creative director and it gets completely disinterested for the fall of giants that is happening under our eyes, but it is (fashion) business as usual.

What is interesting is the background of what is happening at Armani and that could have an impact on creative decisions and change the course of the matter. You know that I am keen on writing about fashion anthropology and sociology and this is a case that is irresistible for many reasons

I wrote about Hedi at Armani several times and the last one on October 15th, last week. Then the news was reposted by Trussarchive on Instagram with my consent early this week.

Both LVMH and L’Oreal early this week have shown interest for the acquisition of Giorgio Armani.

Having said that what are the possible scenarios at Armani?

• Slimane will never be announced as the new Armani creative director despite having moved one year ago to Milan and having been “seen” somewhere at Armani
• Slimane is still negotiating details of his deal and maybe the ownership could agree or not on those so it will take more time. We know how fussy and demanding he is and for a reason.
• Armani is taking some time to cool off the issue to make a proper announcement.
• L’Oreal has made an offer and is unwilling to have Slimane as Armani CD. Slimane harshly criticized L’Oreal when he was the CD at Saint Laurent because the way they managed the brand was not at all aligned with the YSL brand image he developed (and he was right, a license MUST follow the brand fundamentals without even discussing them) and what he amazingly did at Celine with fragrances and make up could have never been done by L’Oreal that has a more mass market approach.
• The expressions of interest happened this week slowed down or maybe halted the recruiting of Slimane.

read rest on SUN DeLuxe | Susanna Nicoletti | Substack

 

[SpeedRacer666]

^ Sounds like a whole lot of backtracking to save face.

 

[PDFSD]

yes but she also right ..like i knew when x film was shot and who the main stars where etc but when i came out its was slightly different sources get different parts or things change etc its

but i never shoot down if someone say what they heard or understood and put it to writing for everyone to see, every intel counts when your not inside the room that makes decisions :-)

that's how it works even inside the companies some department have one peice of the puzzle then another person that is friend with x person outside know another part etc etc

best intel is from a secret lover or mistress its as good as straight from the source lol

 

[Melancholybaby]

and there is yours truly who, while preparing university classes, has to deal with the matter.

The clownery I can't 🤡

 

[PDFSD]

The clownery I can't 🤡

agree but she write like this always she not a journalist and she talks about here week days its normal in her texts .

 

[style_expert]

She left out another possible scenario, which is that Hedi could still be bound by a non-compete agreement with LVMH. His departure from Celine was announced in October 2024 under rather unknown details as to when and especially WHY?
If there's still a non-compete Armani had to deny all rumors, obviously.

She could be totally off, but I think where there’s smoke, there could be fire.

As for L’Oréal, they should be thrilled to have a creative director like Hedi involved in a brand whose beauty license they hold and they should actually listen to what he has to say. He has an excellent track record in fragrance: he played a key role in the successful launch of Dior’s La Collection Privée and later oversaw the entire fragrance line at Celine. That line has performed commercially very well and the perfumes themselves are genuinely good, especially considering how quickly they were developed. There was nothing particularly original in terms of product or presentation, but everything was executed to perfection as one would expect from a control freak like Hedi.

L’Oréal has been moving further into the niche and upscale segment rather than focusing solely on the mass market, so there’s real opportunity in beauty too, even for an already well-developed, but slightly down-marketed brand like Armani.

I guess it's mostly wishful thinking on my part but I'm always somehow rooting for Hedi, despite his flaws and ego....and I think Armani would benefit from someone who can oversee it all and structure the business with all those separate lines in a way that makes more sense too.

 

[PDFSD]

She left out another possible scenario, which is that Hedi could still be bound by a non-compete agreement with LVMH. His departure from Celine was announced in October 2024 under rather unknown details as to when and especially WHY?
If there's still a non-compete Armani had to deny all rumors, obviously.

She could be totally off, but I think where there’s smoke, there could be fire.

As for L’Oréal, they should be thrilled to have a creative director like Hedi involved in a brand whose beauty license they hold and they should actually listen to what he has to say. He has an excellent track record in fragrance: he played a key role in the successful launch of Dior’s La Collection Privée and later oversaw the entire fragrance line at Celine. That line has performed commercially very well and the perfumes themselves are genuinely good, especially considering how quickly they were developed. There was nothing particularly original in terms of product or presentation, but everything was executed to perfection as one would expect from a control freak like Hedi.

L’Oréal has been moving further into the niche and upscale segment rather than focusing solely on the mass market, so there’s real opportunity in beauty too, even for an already well-developed, but slightly down-marketed brand like Armani.

I guess it's mostly wishful thinking on my part but I'm always somehow rooting for Hedi, despite his flaws and ego....and I think Armani would benefit from someone who can oversee it all and structure the business with all those separate lines in a way that makes more sense too.

agree but L’Oréal like easy and mass money look at their profile of luxury brands even prada and miu miu is verry for everybody.

Also is the son of Bettencourt Meyers, Jean-Victor Meyers is friends with Hedi at least he went to some shows of even during heid Celine time if not mistaken.

maybe there is some connection still there ?

 

[Phuel]

Not so much that Hedi needs anyone to root for him. Just that he’s the only single talent working today that straightup designs, produces and offers garments and branding that’s quintessentially, effortlessly modern and timeless— rare qualities in these dire fastfashion times. The brand Giorgio Armani needs him more than he needs them. I’d much prefer he start his own label.

Frankly, I suspect the only obstacle in the way is that they’re insisting he take A/X along with Giorgio Armani. And that’s understandably a dealbreaker for anyone. Then again, Haider took Canada Goose alongside Tom Ford— surely Hedi can be the better man and do it too???