Hedi Slimane - Designer, Creative Director of Celine

[Marc10]

@EdwardEnninful
Just spotted the new Saint Laurent Paris store #newday xoxo

 

[GERGIN]

I really am digging the new logo....I mean for me it still screams luxurious, even mysterious (obviously cause I have not seen the clothes....yet). Like Christian Dior, I hope this house gets cleansed first before going into new territory.

 

[Wolkfolk]

I'm still not in favor of the changing the name. Mainly because Mr Saint-Laurent has now passed away, I feel like it's a kind of rejection of his legacy. But I do like the new logo. There's something very retro about it and couture of course, but that's obvious. However knowing Hedi, I'm sure the aesthetic will be much more modern than it seems.
Besides it's very common to say "Saint-Laurent" instead of "Yves Saint-Laurent", especially France. In english speaking countries people are more familiar with the full name because they tend to shorten it to "YSL". in France "Saint-Laurent" is the equivalent of "YSL".
Therefore, I don't think it will have a big impact on the general public, it's more a personal mattern for me and an issue for the ones who really care about fashion.

 

[fritze]

While I'm not thrilled with how Slimane is definitively stamping his own imprint on the House, I am looking forward to the rivalry between Raf Simons at Dior and Slimane at YSL which could yield rather exciting collections in Paris, almost like the KL and YSL rivalry revisited!

It would also be quite juicy and rather fun!

Regarding the new logotype, the use of Helvetica bold is

It's a beautiful font but it is also the brainless, go-to for any graphic designer looking for an easy way to achieve "modern, clean, simple".
From a design perspective, I think it is a bit of a sin to replace the masterpiece that is A.M. Cassandre's YSL logo with this tumblr-esque one.

 

[Excentrique]

miss the old logo

 

[Naen]

“opening soon” on Mercer Street in SoHo

intothegloss.com

 

[eugenius]

I, for one, am happy they're replacing the original logo. For some reason, it always reminds me of the Young And The Restless logo..

(source: tvfanantic.com)

 

[neodeco]

uh? the original logo is the perfect trademark for the house and came from one of the greatest art deco artist out there, you can't just compare it with that young and restless logo...

Everything Hedi touches became helvetica, there's no surprise in it, so does with saint laurent paris logo. It's alright since he's not changing the YSL house logo as a whole

 

[jmrmartinho]

Everything is looking so forced since Hedi went to YSL.

 

[HeatherAnne]

Everything is being so over-analyzed since Hedi went to YSL. Although, he isn't helping the matter with all the gimmicky changes and PR releases.

 

[Zazie]

It would also be quite juicy and rather fun!

Regarding the new logotype, the use of Helvetica bold is

It's a beautiful font but it is also the brainless, go-to for any graphic designer looking for an easy way to achieve "modern, clean, simple".
From a design perspective, I think it is a bit of a sin to replace the masterpiece that is A.M. Cassandre's YSL logo with this tumblr-esque one.

It'll be interesting, but I feel it'll be a lot easier for Slimane than Simons as YSL has a lot of design DNA that dovetail nicely with Heidi's own (eg. le Smoking), while both the style of M. Dior himself and Galliano do not offer an easy fit for Simons' own approach to his collections. Stray too much from those and the loyal fans will start howling, and he'll suffer the same fate as Paulo Melim Andersson's at Chloe.

It'll be a difficult challenge and I hope Raf Simons steps up to it.

The changes at YSL I'm fine with as long as he delivers a great collection. I think therein lies the test of the pudding!

 

[Spike413]

Everything is being so over-analyzed since Hedi went to YSL. Although, he isn't helping the matter with all the gimmicky changes and PR releases.

It's so true. Honestly very little of what he's done so far is all that different from what plenty of new creative directors do. Tags get changed, shopping bags are redesigned, stores are completely remodeled, locations change, staffs change, logos are altered...

None of this is THAT shocking. Hedi did it at Dior Homme. Tom Ford did it at Gucci. Pilati did it at YSL, to a lesser extent, but still.

I still think that all of this change, though jarring for some, is the smartest thing that Hedi could possibly do. It closes a chapter, ends an era and distances YSL the brand from YSL the man enough that people can stop treating them as one entity, which makes it that much easier for Slimane to do his own thing. Honestly were it not for the fact that Saint Laurent was still alive at the time, I wouldn't be surprised if Ford had done the same thing himself. It just makes sense when you're dealing with such an immense legacy and iconic creator that, while it should be respected, shouldn't be a burden.

 

[Excentrique]

uh? the original logo is the perfect trademark for the house

EXACTLY! I can´t imagine the "new" Saint Laurent, well I dont have to do that, now its real, a mess to me

 

[Zimdor]

I still think that all of this change, though jarring for some, is the smartest thing that Hedi could possibly do. It closes a chapter, ends an era and distances YSL the brand from YSL the man enough that people can stop treating them as one entity, which makes it that much easier for Slimane to do his own thing. Honestly were it not for the fact that Saint Laurent was still alive at the time, I wouldn't be surprised if Ford had done the same thing himself. It just makes sense when you're dealing with such an immense legacy and iconic creator that, while it should be respected, shouldn't be a burden.

I simply can't agree in reference to one part of "all of this change": the name change to "Saint Laurent Paris".

The first time I saw that, I went "no!". Then "no no!". Then "no no no!". Then I slapped myself .

If there is one general consistency in the ever-changing world of fashion, its the names of top houses. Its not just a personal stamp of a designer, its one consistency which helps build a perception of legacy with the public, the fashion press & otherwise.

When you are talking about one of the most brilliant & influential designers of the 20th century such as Yves Saint Laurent, changing the name of his house--whether or not its after he dies--is frankly a stake through the heart of that legacy. As has been mentioned by other people here.

None of what you mention in regards to possibly "distancing the brand from the original designer" seems to have much of a burden on Uncle Karl at Chanel, Alber Elbaz at Lanvin, Galliano when with Dior and so on. Its only a burden if a designer thinks its a burden. Which is apparently what has happened here .

Frankly, the name change makes me ill. I just hope Slimane's designs (couture or otherwise) can eventually compensate.

 

[Izreal]

^ you're acting as if the name was changed to "Hedi Saint Slimane" ?!

i think half of you that are upset over the name change forget that "Saint Laurent" was what the label was originally named so if anything it's reverting back to the essence of the house, not ruining the legacy like some of you imply.. besides he explained in the vogue interview that only the ready-to-wear will bare the new name, the company, perfume (and potential haute couture) will still be YSL...

a little trip down memory lane:

(YSL Spring 1976 campaign, photographer: alex chatelain)
source: styleregistry livejournal

you can already see here how back then the ready to wear was "Saint Laurent" yet the eyewear had the "YSL" logo

 

[Creative]

If there is one general consistency in the ever-changing world of fashion, its the names of top houses. Its not just a personal stamp of a designer, its one consistency which helps build a perception of legacy with the public, the fashion press & otherwise.

Lanvin-Castillo was one of the most successful times for the brand.

When you are talking about one of the most brilliant & influential designers of the 20th century such as Yves Saint Laurent, changing the name of his house--whether or not its after he dies--is frankly a stake through the heart of that legacy. As has been mentioned by other people here.

The new name is not new; it's part of his legacy.

 

[Zimdor]

OK fine, I did not realize that at one time, his pret-a-porter line was labeled as "Saint Laurent (rive gauche)". It wasn't done in later PaP collections, however (although he did stop designing PaP in the '80s). And I don't see "Paris" in that .

The point I was making is that the names YSL/Yves Saint Laurent and the iconic logo is what the vast majority of the public (& otherwise) associate with that house and consequently, his legacy. The 70's PaP/rive gauche name certainly has less of an impact currently, whether its a part of his legacy or not.

I don't appreciate the change, whether its (re)applied (+ "Paris") to PaP only or the whole house. Some of you might appreciate it. No problem; people have different preferences.

 

[Marc10]

Hedi Responds

HEDI SLIMANE has hit back at criticism over his decision to rebrand Yves Saint Laurent, changing the name to Saint Laurent Paris - the same nomenclature that the label's eponymous founder used when he first set up the brand in 1966.

"It is interesting to see how much reaction this retro branding has created," Slimane told Vanity Fair. "Clearly, this period of the history of the house was not well-known, which I trust was a surprise for Pierre Bergé [Saint Laurent's long-term partner]. I went back to 1966 - just before the events of 1968 [when 11 million workers revolted against the conservative politics of then-President Charles de Gaulle - the biggest general strike in history], but the awakening of youth was in the air, and Yves Saint Laurent wanted to dissociate himself from the clientele of haute couture and embrace this new generation."

The iconic French fashion house unveiled its new logo on its Facebook page last month, incurring backlash from fans - with some labeling it "boring and genuinely disappointing". Slimane will present his first show for the label this autumn during Paris Fashion Week.

vogue.uk

 

[Spike413]

I simply can't agree in reference to one part of "all of this change": the name change to "Saint Laurent Paris".

The first time I saw that, I went "no!". Then "no no!". Then "no no no!". Then I slapped myself .

If there is one general consistency in the ever-changing world of fashion, its the names of top houses. Its not just a personal stamp of a designer, its one consistency which helps build a perception of legacy with the public, the fashion press & otherwise.

When you are talking about one of the most brilliant & influential designers of the 20th century such as Yves Saint Laurent, changing the name of his house--whether or not its after he dies--is frankly a stake through the heart of that legacy. As has been mentioned by other people here.

None of what you mention in regards to possibly "distancing the brand from the original designer" seems to have much of a burden on Uncle Karl at Chanel, Alber Elbaz at Lanvin, Galliano when with Dior and so on. Its only a burden if a designer thinks its a burden. Which is apparently what has happened here .

Frankly, the name change makes me ill. I just hope Slimane's designs (couture or otherwise) can eventually compensate.

Coco Chanel, Jeanne Lanvin and Christian Dior were all LONG dead before Lagerfeld, Elbaz or Galliano came on board. None of them were faced with the potential problem of either a living designer or said designer's very vocal business and life partner having any opinion on their work. Each of Saint Laurent's successors has had that very issue staring them in the face while heading a house that, more than Chanel, Dior or Lanvin, is so strongly revered, so protected, to the point that people take news regarding how the house identifies itself and spin it into some opera-level tragedy. Sure, the melodrama is perfectly fitting given the nature of this house's founder, but it's taken to an extreme.

Besides, the name of a house and it's legacy ultimately have nothing whatsoever to do with each other. You could call it absolutely nothing and the legacy wouldn't change as a result.

 

[Chanelcouture09]

^If you remember Tom Ford even had Yves write to him to tell him how displeased he was with his collections, telling him in 20 minutes he ruined 20 years of Yves' career (or something like that), I always felt Yves wasn't happy that he was making a better attempt at the company than he did himself, I think whatever Pierre has to say means nothing, because many people back when Yves was at the helm always felt he was dazed and out dated, there was quite a frank interview on the BBC in the 90's with several reporters who attended his show(s).