Hedi Slimane leaves Dior Homme

[Diorling]

I understand what you're saying...But where will Dior Homme go now? Will they have a looong period of mediocrity like Dior women did under Marc Bohan?

I wonder...

 

[felipeborges]

all need to change !

 

[homeboy]

With all due respect Hedi is a great designer but unfortunately lacks some experience. His collection are getting worse and worse and versatility and variation is a big problem for him. Don't get me wrong though, I do like a great number of the DH clothes out in the stores.

 

[svsk_sk2]

personally i think Kris Van Assche would bring a "healthier" image to the house of Dior as the creative director of Dior Homme... i think in his own collections there are already elements of the 'Dior Homme' that Hedi Slimane created for the label...

let's see if it's like Tom Ford to Stefano Pilati in YSL or Tome Ford to John Ray in Gucci...

:-)

 

[birdofparadise]

I was never, ever a fan of the brand though I did think the early collections were exceptional, the appeal was a little wider. I was thinking that perhaps it would become a Gucci situation simply because there was no brand identity for Dior menswear before this, nothing beyond the basics. Hedi breathed life into it and attached it strongly to his own aesthetics, more so than he did at YSL. But taking on a former employee was a smart move, he knows Hedi's old Dior, he can understand where it was going, he can move it back, move it forward. I do wonder why they allowed him to keep his brand but were stuck on giving Slimane his own womenswear line...

(off the topic P.S. Where in the hell is John Ray???)

 

[LANE]

Mutterlein, that's a good illustration, Hedi Slimane is much like YSL when he was at Dior. YSL got canned from Dior too, and now look at him. I have high hopes for Hedi, I wonder if he can move past his current look? He's a Pheobo Philo...

exciting

 

[LANE]

Mr. Slimane's statement...

via hedislimane.com:

...
I GUESS THIS WEBSITE COULD BE MY OWN TRIBUNE. ENGLISH IS NOT MY NATURAL LANGUAGE, BUT I THOUGHT I WOULD WRITE THIS MYSELF. HOPEFULLY IT WILL MAKE SENSE TO SOME, AND STRAIGHTEN SOME IMPRECISE RECORDS. I WAS SILENT FOR A LONG TIME. I OBSERVED WITH INTEREST HOW BLURRY AND TWISTED EVERYTHING HAS BECOME. I ALMOST FEEL LIKE I’M A STRANGER TO ALL THIS, AND TOTALLY RELIEVED IT HAS FINALLY COME OUT.

IN JULY 2000, ALMOST 7 YEARS AGO, I JOINED CHRISTIAN DIOR AND STARTED TO DEFINE DIOR HOMME. I CAME FROM SAINT LAURENT. I WAS A LITTLE MISERABLE AND SAD OF THIS SUDDEN EXODUS, BUT THE IDEA OF STARTING EX-NIHILO A DIFFERENT MASCULINE PROJECT AT DIOR WAS APPEALING. I’VE ALWAYS FELT FOR THIS BEAUTIFUL HOUSE.

I BELIEVED DIOR HOMME, NEWLY CREATED, COULD BE A HOLISTIC PROJECT.
THROUGH THE YEARS I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO COLLABORATE WITH SO MANY CREATIVE MINDS AND DEVELOP A COMMON SENSIBILITY. I WANT TO THANK THEM ALL FOR A REALLY FRUITFUL COLLABORATION. IT WAS A TIME CAPSULE—7 YEARS OF PRODUCING MUSIC, BANDS, ARCHITECTURAL SPACES, ART PROJECTS, AND DESIGN. I GUESS I WAS SOLELY INTERESTED IN THE TIME I WAS IN, LIVING IN COMPLETE MOVEMENT.

I ALWAYS TRIED TO STAY FAITHFUL TO MY BELIEFS, AND THE IDEAS I WAS
PURSUING. I TRIED NOT TO GET DISTRACTED. I HAD A CERTAIN IDEA OF THE HOUSE OF DIOR, WHICH I LOVE, AND TRIED TO EXPRESS IT THROUGH DIFFERENT MEDIUMS. IT WON’T BE FOR ME TO JUDGE IF IT WAS OF ANY RELEVANCE. I WAS JUST TRYING SOMETHING.

I CANNOT THANK MY TEAM ENOUGH, MY STUDIO, AND MY ATELIER, WITH WHOM I BUILT DIOR HOMME. IN SOME WAYS I FEEL IT IS THEM I HAVE LEFT, AND I WOULD HOPE THEY WILL UNDERSTAND. I WANT THEM TO KNOW I LOVE EACH ONE OF THEM. THEY WERE ALWAYS BY MY SIDE, AND ME BY THEIRS. WE HELPED EACH OTHER THROUGH THE PROCESS OF DESIGN AND THE EXPECTATIONS. I ASSUME WE HAD THE BEST TIME TOGETHER DESIGNING ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING IN THIS TINY STUDIO.

I ALSO WANT TO THANK ALL THE BOYS THAT DID MY SHOWS AND THOSE I
PHOTOGRAPHED, THE ONES I FOUND RANDOMLY AND ALL THE OTHERS. THEY HAVE BEEN A STRONG INSPIRATION–IF NOT THE ONLY ONE–AND THE REASON WHY I DESIGNED THE CLOTHES. I LIKED NOTHING MORE THAN SEEING THEM TAKING OVER THE SHOWS AND MAKING THE CLOTHES THEIR OWN.

I WANT TO THANK ALL THE MUSICIANS I WORKED WITH, THE ONES I DRESSED, THE ONES I PHOTOGRAPHED, AND THE ONES THAT COMPOSED MUSIC FOR ME. I WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO PARTICIPATE IN THE BIRTH OF THIS NEW SCENE, WHICH I GUESS HAD A LOT TO DO WITH THE SILHOUETTE I WAS TRYING TO CREATE. I ALWAYS HAVE THIS GENERATION IN MIND, AND I GUESS I’M STAYING BY ITS SIDE. I WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL THE BOYS AND GIRLS WHO FELT IT.

I WANT TO THANK ALL THE PEOPLE THAT MANUFACTURED MY DESIGNS
WITH SO MUCH CARE AND PRECISION, THE TEAMS THAT CARRIED THIS
PROJECT INTO STORES, AS WELL AS THE RETAILERS THAT SUPPORTED MY
COLLECTIONS.


I WANT TO THANK BERNARD ARNAULT, WHO TRUSTED ME WITH THIS PROJECT. I WAS REALLY BLESSED TO BE ABLE TO DEVELOP IT. I HOPE HE WILL UNDERSTAND MY POSITION AND DECISION, IF NOT NOW, THEN HOPEFULLY WITH SOME TIME.

CLOSE TO A YEAR AGO, MORE PRECISELY LAST JULY, AT THE END OF MY CONTRACT, I FELT IT WAS TIME FOR ME TO MAKE A MAJOR CHANGE, AND LEAVE THE COMPANY. I HAD ALREADY SET UP THE PRINCIPLES THAT COULD CONTINUE TO BE THERE FOR DIOR HOMME. AS FOR MY OWN STYLE AND AESTHETIC, I DECIDED IT WAS TIME TO SEPARATE THE 2.

IT HAS BEEN SAID THAT A PROPOSAL CAME TO ME TO START A NEW HOUSE UNDER MY NAME IF I STAYED WITH DIOR HOMME.

I TRIED TO MAKE THINGS WORK FOR ABOUT A YEAR. HOWEVER, I HAD THE FEELING IT WAS NOT THE RIGHT PROJECT FOR ME. THERE ARE AREAS I WILL NOT COMPROMISE WITH AT ALL WHEN IT COMES TO MY WORK, AND SETTING UP A LABEL UNDER MY OWN NAME. I ALWAYS KEPT IN MIND THE PRECEDENCE OF SOME DESIGNERS I ADMIRE WHO WERE IN A SIMILAR SITUATION, AND CHOSE THE OTHER PATH. PERHAPS IN ANOTHER TIME IN MY LIFE, UNDER OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES, MY NAME, AND THE MANAGEMENT OF A COMPANY UNDER MY OWN LABEL WOULD BE CONSIDERED DIFFERENTLY. RIGHT NOW I FEEL IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO STAY TRUE TO MY PRINCIPLES, AND THE IDEA I HAVE OF FASHION.

I HAD NO OTHER CHOICE THAN TO REFUSE THE KIND PROPOSITION THAT WAS MADE AND TO DECLINE A NEW DIOR HOMME CONTRACT. I MADE THIS CLEAR JUST AFTER MY LAST SHOW, THE SECOND WEEK OF FEBRUARY, AND LEFT FOR LOS ANGELES. I DECIDED TO WALK AWAY FROM DIOR, AND MOVE ENTIRELY FORWARD.






7

YEARS WITH

AIR
ALAN RAKE
ALEX KAPRANOS
ALLISON MOSSHART
ANDREW AVELING
BECK, MARISSA, AND COSIMO HANSEN
BRANDON FLOWERS
BRIAN MOLKO
CARL BARAT
COURTNEY LOVE
DAFT PUNK
DAVID BOWIE
ELTON JOHN AND DAVID FURNISH
JACK WHITE
JAKE SHEARS
JOHNNY BORREL
MATTHEW BELLAMY
MICHAEL STIPE
MICK JAGGER AND L’WREN SCOTT
NEIL TENNANT AND CHRIS LOWE
PAUL SIMONON
PETE DOHERTY
PHIL BUSH
PHOENIX
THESE NEW PURITANS
TOM PADDINGTON
8 LEGS

ANDREAS GURSKY
BANKS VIOLETTE
DANIEL ARSHAM
DICK EVANS
DOUG AITKEN
CARSTEN HOLLER
MUNTEAN AND ROSENBLUM
UGO RONDINONE
PAUL P.
PIERRE HUYGUE
THOMAS DEMAND

DAVID LYNCH
DAVID SIMS
INEZ VAN LANSWEERDE AND VINOODH MATADIN
GUS VAN SANT
BRUCE WEBER
IN MEMORY OF RICHARD AVEDON
WHO DID MY FIRST PICTURE"
...

 

[Crakk]

Punch them Hedi, simple and articulate, I love him. I find it funny that English is NOT his natural language, yet he writes it better than most American citizens. What a beautiful goodbye and hello to a new beginning. I cannot wait for the new line, Im hoping he stays with his stick thin aesthetic, and creates another identity/revolution in the world of fashion, something exciting, raw, fresh, and drastic.

 

[homeboy]

Punch them Hedi, simple and articulate, I love him. I find it funny that English is NOT his natural language, yet he writes it better than most American citizens.

*cough* copywriter *cough*

 

[Diorling]

I was never, ever a fan of the brand though I did think the early collections were exceptional, the appeal was a little wider. I was thinking that perhaps it would become a Gucci situation simply because there was no brand identity for Dior menswear before this, nothing beyond the basics. Hedi breathed life into it and attached it strongly to his own aesthetics, more so than he did at YSL. But taking on a former employee was a smart move, he knows Hedi's old Dior, he can understand where it was going, he can move it back, move it forward. I do wonder why they allowed him to keep his brand but were stuck on giving Slimane his own womenswear line...

(off the topic P.S. Where in the hell is John Ray???)

Frida Giannini worked under Tom Ford and she's a mess at Gucci. It's the Gucci/Chloe/Dior Homme situation...What I think is funny is that Tom/Phebo/Hedi probably thought "If I make such a strong image, noone can replicate it, and they will never have the same success w/o mel" and so far, it's true! I mean, Gucci is a mess...Chloe is falling apart but we'll see about Dior Homme.

I LOVED John Ray! He was so similar to Tom Ford but he had more elegance rather than SEX SEX SEX.

 

[zamb]

I wear a size US 15, so no designer shoes for me..except I squeeze into these Marc Jacobs sneakers I have...bleh YSL makes a wicked shoe, but I'll never be able to wear them...I wonder what Andre Leon Talley does with his shoes..lol

Not sure what he does now........ but i know Andre used to wear handmade Bespoke shoes..........His suits used to be made by Huntsman (savile Row) but that was a while back, when he used to dress like an English Dandy

 

[belletrist]

*cough* copywriter *cough*

I don't think so... Hedi's 30 ++ and he did a KH - french preparatory classes - which means that he was at least very good in english when he was 18 - so now he must be able to speak english fluently, if not with a native level. Moreover he did travelled a lot - didn't his text say that he moved to LA? Definitely or just to take a break?

 

[kuba01]

I don't understand the point of his statement - it just says that he wants to leave to pursue other avenues in fashion and he thanks a lot of people.

There's nothing new in his statement - just a reiteration of facts and things we already knew...

 

[Mutterlein]

"Sidney Toledano, the chief executive of Dior, confirmed this morning that Hedi Slimane will no longer design Dior Homme, ending months of negotiations that were often at an impasse between the runway star and executives of Dior and LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. Slimane has been replaced by Kris Van Assche, who signed his contract with Dior just a few hours ago in Paris"

from Cathy Horyn's On The Runway Blog.

 

[Salvatore]

Frida Giannini worked under Tom Ford and she's a mess at Gucci. It's the Gucci/Chloe/Dior Homme situation...What I think is funny is that Tom/Phebo/Hedi probably thought "If I make such a strong image, noone can replicate it, and they will never have the same success w/o mel" and so far, it's true! I mean, Gucci is a mess...Chloe is falling apart but we'll see about Dior Homme.

I LOVED John Ray! He was so similar to Tom Ford but he had more elegance rather than SEX SEX SEX.

Took the words right out of my mouth. And each had/has their following; a strong following. I am very much excited to see this develop.

 

[Mutterlein]

I don't understand the point of his statement - it just says that he wants to leave to pursue other avenues in fashion and he thanks a lot of people.

There's nothing new in his statement - just a reiteration of facts and things we already knew...

With all the buzz this is going to get he had to say something before others do it for him. I like his statement, I've been a fan until the most recent collections and Dior Homme without Hedi Slimane is crazy for me. It hints at deeper issues with Slimane's relationship with Dior's corporate structure. I wondered a page or so back about whether Slimane minded that his brand was caught in the grill of a profit loving corporation, well I got that cleared up. I'm excited to see the next steps Hedi will be taking. And didn't Tim Blanks say something about a few designers exiting their esteemed positions this year?

Hedi has laid such a strong foundation for Dior with Dior Homme. I was skeptical about whether it will be as strong with KVA at the helm but then how many of the people who buy DH jeans, wallets, sneakers, and cologne care about the runway collections? That's the scary question LVMH has to deal with.

 

[JJohnson]

A whole new marketing plan may be underway...

 

[Mutterlein]

Frida Giannini worked under Tom Ford and she's a mess at Gucci. It's the Gucci/Chloe/Dior Homme situation...What I think is funny is that Tom/Phebo/Hedi probably thought "If I make such a strong image, noone can replicate it, and they will never have the same success w/o mel" and so far, it's true! I mean, Gucci is a mess...Chloe is falling apart but we'll see about Dior Homme.

I LOVED John Ray! He was so similar to Tom Ford but he had more elegance rather than SEX SEX SEX.

I'm not sure if this is true. Gucci has been doing quite well with Frida, the sales certainly have. And I think most Chloe customers didn't have any idea who Phoebe Philo was. I was talking to a buyer at Nordstrom, women loved Chloe no matter who was designing, and it's been a strong seller for them well after Philo left. It seems that these brands can in fact continue on without their star designer, that age seems to be nearing its final end. It's a new kind of fashion business emerging. What happens when designers make their clothes in a large company and then leave or are pushed out? When does integrity lose it's flexibility and an individual has to say no even to a big fat contract? What happens to all the branded handbags, t-shirts, and leather goods that need to be sold?

 

[style_expert]

^ yes I agree...most customers never heard of Phoebe Philo or Frida..I think a major part of the DH customers had never heard of Hedi Slimane too.

 

[mass]

anyone else think it would be interesting if slimane designed for hermes? well, nichanian is doing a pretty good (safe + conservative) job though, but hmm. does anyone even buy it? it's so expensive (of course).