Hedi Slimane - Designer, Creative Director of Celine

[pohan]

This is how Yves Saint Laurent started his RTW business, and behold the name is the same that Hedi wants to bring back today, but the only change that "Rive Gauche" is out and "Paris" is in.

 

[iluvjeisa]

I guess the SLP isn't so bad. I still can't muster the idea of YSL/SLP in LA though...practical or not for HS.....it's still such blasphemy

 

[KKnardi]

This is how Yves Saint Laurent started his RTW business, and behold the name is the same that Hedi wants to bring back today, but the only change that "Rive Gauche" is out and "Paris" is in.

I agree with this, it's not a huge thing,... `i'm very excited to see his new collection...

 

[TianSoFine]

To me, it seems a little dishonest to emphasize that it's in Paris when the designer is designing from LA.

 

[Izreal]

about the name change, hedi did the same thing when he took over at dior, changing the name from Christian Dior, simply to Dior Homme. it's his way of wiping the slate clean and announcing a new era/direction is to follow. of course it ties in nicely with the early beginnings of the ysl house. i find it quite brilliant and a giant welcome as the letters YSL had started to become a little too mainstream dare i say tacky (probably thanks to the constant perfume advertising rather then stefano's work). i am however disappointed with him designing from LA, it just feels awkward and selfish although looking at his photo work from the last few years he seems a lot more inspired there then in europe which is i guess what ultimately matters (and for those hating on LA, there are a multitude of scenes there, and hedi's definitely feels coherent with his past, wether paris, london,berlin)

 

[lemeray]

I feel indifferent to the name change, at the moment I just want to see his first collection for the house...everyone will soon forget about the name change anyways and become accustomed to it...

 

[KKnardi]

To me, it seems a little dishonest to emphasize that it's in Paris when the designer is designing from LA.

The designer is not from LA, he's only based there and has his studio there. Who whouldn't want to work in fair-weather LA instead of gloomy rainy paris...?

 

[Mutterlein]

Interesting that we can even have an exchange about designing in L.A vs. Paris in regards to a brand's authenticity.

 

[Mutterlein]

Interesting that we can even have an exchange about designing in L.A vs. Paris in regards to a brand's authenticity.

Also interesting to wonder if the collections Saint Laurent designed while away in Morocco are still valid as they were not designed in Paris?

 

[tatouejeremie]

Also interesting to wonder if the collections Saint Laurent designed while away in Morocco are still valid as they were not designed in Paris?

i doubt that person is already questioning the validity of the new collections with the location change.

but why the addition of paris to the brand's name when you just moved the entire studio to LA? why not Saint Laurent LA, i for one love the sound of that.

do they even produce in paris?

 

[Izreal]

^ in a way that would make sense, but i think ysl shareholders would have an attack... "paris" still means something very important in the world of fashion, it even used to be "rive gauche" which was making an even stronger statement. one has to also understand that although hedi is designing from LA, the maison and the atelier still remain in paris, and the fittings will still take place there as well. as unusual as it is, i'm not that surprised.. hedi is known for having his artistic phases often connected to particular cities, and he often stated in interviews he was tired of the paris scene not to mention his discomfort with dior corporate which made him retire from fashion in the first place. i presume being able to work from LA was the compromise YSL had to put up with to get hedi back into fashion.. anyways, anyone know when the mens SS13 presentation will take place?

 

[Thefrenchy]

but why the addition of paris to the brand's name when you just moved the entire studio to LA? why not Saint Laurent LA, i for one love the sound of that.

Sure! And why not Laurent USA while we're at it?

 

[almudena]

Who whouldn't want to work in fair-weather LA instead of gloomy rainy paris...?

You must be joking, right?
Would you?

 

[ogepma]

i find it quite brilliant and a giant welcome as the letters YSL had started to become a little too mainstream dare i say tacky

I don't understand this. If this is the case, Chanel, Dior, Giorgio Armani and Co should all change their names as they all offer perfumes and cosmetics with the same brand name and identity as their ready to wear lines. I do not think their brands are getting tacky because perfumes and beauty products carry their names.

As for Berge supporting this, I am not surprised because Slimane is a prodigy of his. My theory is that because Slimane is back at YSL, Berge will have a degree of "de facto" power within the house which he did not have during Ford and Pilati's tenure. I found the fact that he really dislikes Pilati very surprising especially since he was fond of him for the first 3-4 years of his time as CD. He even let him use the Berge-YSL foundation office for the S/S 2008 manifesto and attended a lot of his shows. Once YSL came back to the black after so many years, he disliked Pilati. Hmmm.

All in all, this looks like the brand will suffer an identity crisis. Keeping the YSL logo but calling it Saint Laurent Paris is very pointless. It's not like the brand has suffered any bad publicity recently like Dior and Galliano had! Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) is a national symbol of France and a household name. Since HC no longer exists, the best way this generation can remember him is by respecting his legacy and not toying with it because of money and publicity. If he wants to restructure the image of the house, its the clothes that he should work on; not the already perfect and elegant brand image it has!

YSL changed the rive gauche logo from what it was in the 60's to the HC one for a reason. It's best to leave it at that and focus on the clothes.

 

[thejarc]

I don't understand this. If this is the case, Chanel, Dior, Giorgio Armani and Co should all change their names as they all offer perfumes and cosmetics with the same brand name and identity as their ready to wear lines. I do not think their brands are getting tacky because perfumes and beauty products carry their names.

As for Berge supporting this, I am not surprised because Slimane is a prodigy of his. My theory is that because Slimane is back at YSL, Berge will have a degree of "de facto" power within the house which he did not have during Ford and Pilati's tenure. I found the fact that he really dislikes Pilati very surprising especially since he was fond of him for the first 3-4 years of his time as CD. He even let him use the Berge-YSL foundation office for the S/S 2008 manifesto and attended a lot of his shows. Once YSL came back to the black after so many years, he disliked Pilati. Hmmm.

All in all, this looks like the brand will suffer an identity crisis. Keeping the YSL logo but calling it Saint Laurent Paris is very pointless. It's not like the brand has suffered any bad publicity recently like Dior and Galliano had! Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) is a national symbol of France and a household name. Since HC no longer exists, the best way this generation can remember him is by respecting his legacy and not toying with it because of money and publicity. If he wants to restructure the image of the house, its the clothes that he should work on; not the already perfect and elegant brand image it has!

YSL changed the rive gauche logo from what it was in the 60's to the HC one for a reason. It's best to leave it at that and focus on the clothes.

I'd say that this is the opposite of an identity crisis and Saint Laurent personally chose Slimane to design the menswear in the 90s and Pierre Berge gave his blessing to the changes so it would be cool for everybody to just wait until the collections are out in order to judge. How you can you say he is destroying the brand when one of the brands founders likes the change?

 

[Izreal]

I don't understand this. If this is the case, Chanel, Dior, Giorgio Armani and Co should all change their names as they all offer perfumes and cosmetics with the same brand name and identity as their ready to wear lines. I do not think their brands are getting tacky because perfumes and beauty products carry their names.

matter of taste/opinion, but yes i'd have to put all the above in the same category, they don't need to change names though because they are not changing identity/direction.. i know the word tacky is going to get me flamed so i'd rather use mainstream or commercial perhaps to describe these brands identities. hedi slimane despite his giant success at dior, fits in a more minimalist indie category closer to the antwerp designers imo. i predict similar changes perhaps not in name but definitely in image/aestethics with raf simons at dior..

All in all, this looks like the brand will suffer an identity crisis. Keeping the YSL logo but calling it Saint Laurent Paris is very pointless.

wrong... like i said previously, hedi did the same thing at dior, he changed the name to dior homme but kept the CD logo for many items. there was no confusion everyone knows CD=DH just like everyone will eventually understand YSL=SLP. it will just be more understated, which is a value hedi is known for. there is also a main purpose behind this, as it is setting the tone for a new era just like when hedi took over dior menswear, a radical transition with not just with the clothing style or image but entire philosophy of the brand was re-written... we have yet to see what changes will be brought to YSL, but i'm betting on quite a bit although we'll have to wait until FW13 for the transition to really sit in..

YSL changed the rive gauche logo from what it was in the 60's to the HC one for a reason. It's best to leave it at that and focus on the clothes.

this is not the way hedi operates, he will undoubtedly focus on the clothes, but he will tweak the image further to fit his aestethics/concept.. it could go as far as re-designing the stores themselves again as he did with dior.. i think it's quite brilliant, and i have full trust the changes will be for the better in the long run..

 

[xdieselx]

Feeling ambivalent about the name change. I doubt it would have a big effect on the customer.

If they change the logo, then that would be the stupider move and might elicit a customer backlash. But of course we know that they won't (for now.)

I wonder what Hedi plans for the accessories department. Will he design for it as well? Will he get rid of the muse and the other Stefano designs as part of his long-term plans?

 

[ogepma]

wrong... like i said previously, hedi did the same thing at dior, he changed the name to dior homme but kept the CD logo for many items. there was no confusion everyone knows CD=DH just like everyone will eventually understand YSL=SLP. it will just be more understated, which is a value hedi is known for. there is also a main purpose behind this, as it is setting the tone for a new era just like when hedi took over dior menswear, a radical transition with not just with the clothing style or image but entire philosophy of the brand was re-written... we have yet to see what changes will be brought to YSL, but i'm betting on quite a bit although we'll have to wait until FW13 for the transition to really sit in..

This is like comparing apples with oranges. How can YSL be compared to Dior Homme? YSL is like a national institution in France; a legacy house. The name YSL is inbreed in the minds of many; those who are into fashion and those who aren't. When Heidi took over at Dior Monsieur, there was no defined aesthetic that it was known for hence the necessity to restructure drastically. YSL is a totally different situation. Its not like the house currently has tainted brand image at the moment. Granted, Berge destroyed the brands image years ago when he sold the licences but that has all been fixed now. Stefano did a wonderful job in reinventing the house and that is a simple fact. They have been making money for years now while under Stefano and RTW accounted for a good portion of their revenue. So, no, my assumption is not wrong because right now, as a YSL customer, I am getting confused with its branding and I am sure majority are in my position. A new era is being set for Christian Dior but we don't see Raf changing its name. It is very possible for him to make the identity fit his aesthetic without changing its name and logo. BTW, Saint Laurent Paris sounds cheap IMHO and a bit generic. I once saw a wine bottle with that title minus the Paris.

 

[Izreal]

^ facepalm.... you do realize that Yves Saint Laurent started his career at Dior in the 50's?
CD if anything is an even bigger institution here in France... even more relevant, Hedi Slimane worked at both Dior (2001-2007) and YSL in 1996, and now again. Hedi was there long before Stefano, and many see him as the true successor to Yves both artistically and personally. The change in name is to mark a new era but also a return to form allowing one to focus on the clothing and not the name/logo which carries itself.. I'm sorry if you are confused and not seeing any of this, undoubtedly YSL will lose some of it's former clientele, but it will gain a new one for sure, as Hedi has an almost cult following and many have anticipating his return since he left fashion 5 years ago..

 

[Marc10]

Sketches from the resort collection made by Steven Stipelman for WWD. There's a review/article in their site too, if a subscriber could post it please.

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