Saint Laurent F/W 13.14 Paris

[Psylocke]

I quite agree with you - this is a balanced and honest view and I found I had the same mixed reaction.

----------------------------------------------------

I really do think people like Alison Mosshart, Kate Moss, Alexa Chung, Kirsten Dunst, The Richards, The Jaggers, Daisy Lowe, Geldof girls, Frances Bean Cobain, perhaps the Fannings, etc etc are ALL going to want pieces from this collection; it is going to sell, I suspect.

Thanks, I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds some of these clothes somewhat appealing and isn't ashamed to admit it
And I agree with you - I think this will sell. People thought Balmain by Decarnin was ridiculous and that no one would pay $1,500 for a plain t-shirt with safety pins and holes in it but those items were the fastest ones to sell out on NAP. I do think Hedi is alienating the regular YSL clientèle, but I'm not too worried about this collection not actually becoming a commercial success after all. And @GERGIN, as long as people look up to all those hipsters as their style icons I think they do have certain influence over how much people want this and I don't see why they wouldn't manage to make this a trend again.

 

[rosalynn]

^ this is exactly what i'm talking about.. I stand by my words, it feels like many here take an almost perverse pleasure in bashing the one they feel responsible for ruining "their" label as if they had any kind of entitlement to begin with..

Maybe they were looking forward to an honest assessment of the collection rather than the vague, hollow narratives that most writers seem to be coming out with? I think it would be enjoyable for Vogue, Style or anyone to actually say what nearly everyone is thinking rather than dancing around the obvious.

 

[TianCouture]

^ and by that i'm referring to the number one argument the critics focus their diatribe on: that the clothing feels cheap/readily available at topshop or goodwill. take a look at the detail shots, the quality and fabrics is outstanding, the tailoring impeccable for the most part.

The details are great, no doubt. I hate the collection but the details are relatively outstanding. The problem is that a lot of this really isn't that difficult to make; there's no crazy, wild tailoring. Baby doll dresses and flannel shirts, to me, do not qualify as something that could or would be associated with "impeccable tailoring." It's basics, so in turn the tailoring should be impeccable. And how you know the fabric is outstanding, without testing the hand, is beyond me. When you view this as just a collection, it really isn't that good, at all...

 

[kanita]

The target audience this collection is aimed at is more likely to wear this:

lefashioninspiration.tumblr.com

 

[Desi]

Dare I say Hedi isn't even a designer, but a stylist.

Doesn't he claim this in a past interview as being more of a stylist and not a designer?

 

[iluvjeisa]

I don't think this is going to sell. It is far too ugly and cheap.

That said, perhaps this was for the best. This way they can just fold the house and move on to something else.

 

[kimair]

the fact that betty carroux was sitting front row in head to toe SLP should be an indicator that he is getting some things right..

she wasn't wearing womenswear but sl homme...

if you think about it, how much of the womenswear have you seen aside from editorial? anne hathaway wore a saint laurent tuxedo to the national board of review awards, and another sl to the vanity fair party, which was never seen on the runway...
both might i add were probably picked by her stylist rachel zoe who is infinitely obsessed with the 60s/70s...
i mean have you really seen anyone wearing sl (besides shoes and bags irl?)

here's my take on sl: this collection is not for women, the women that ysl designed for, the women that alber elbaz, tom ford, and stefano pilati designed for...
it is for a girl, an ingenue...which is the style that alexa chung, kirsten dunst, etc. cultivate...
a girl who was the same one buying the balmain and the marant and the like, and it will sell, even though you can get the same style from a vintage store or urban outfitters for much less...
but i can't imagine seeing jessica chastain, et al in any one of these looks (individual pieces, possibly), and i can't imagine a real woman, a working woman who probably bought pieces from the spring collection and has pieces from pilati buying this...
i've looked at the details, and yes while some pieces in the collection look very well made, i wouldn't go so far as to call it impeccable, at least not until i've actually seen it in store...

furthermore, when a new designer comes in, the expectation is that they will infuse the house with a newness, a freshness that wasn't there before (see the valentino duo, wang at balenciaga, philo at celine, raf at jil sander/dior)...
i'm sorry but this isn't fresh or new...it's just the shock factor, and while ysl did design some "shocking" collections, they were also new for the time...
i am not a "hedi-hater" nor was a "pilati-lover," but i do think the latter had a sense of the house language and interpreted it in a modern way...
was it always successful? no, and it never is always successful (even for houses like celine, mj, chanel, etc. there are always missteps)...
i was expecting a certain level of refinement when hedi stepped in, based on his work for dior homme and this is very disappointing...
i do think he's too steeped in his california/rock and roll world because that's not all ysl/sl is about...

 

[dior_couture1245]

A silly little bit of fun....but it's pretty sad.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/amyodell/quiz-can-you-tell-the-difference-between-reviews-of-rihannas

 

[VogueDisciple93]

It is 50 years since the Rolling Stones rocked and rolled, 40 since Punk popped up and 20 since Grunge, but those influences just don’t fade away — especially if you are Hedi Slimane looking for a new image to rejuvenate Saint Laurent. Both the designer’s men’s wear show in January and his online visual diary might have prepared the audience for the rebel yell take on grungy music groups in the outer reaches of Los Angeles, where the designer lives.

So out came droopy cardigans over short skirts and dresses, laced and mesh hose leading down to ankle boots. The models stomped down the runway, past the digital scaffolding projected on the walls. But suddenly a perfectly tailored coat appeared — rigorous, even elegant — except that it was worn over a black leather bra and shorts.

The game Mr. Slimane was playing was not dumb. He wants to take the codes of the old YSL and go back to the days before Mr. Saint Laurent was identified with the thing he most hated — the bourgeoisie.

It is a learning curve in two ways: the designer is new to women’s wear. (This was his sophomore collection and far more punchy than the previous hippie trail of long skirts and big hats.) But the audience he is hoping to reach also has to understand what the old YSL stood for.

So Mr. Slimane gave a quick lesson: a fondant pink fur coat as a reminder that Yves invented the colorful chubbie back in the 1970s; sheer lace dresses (even under a bold checked grungy shirt) to tell the world that this was the man who dared to put transparency and bared breasts on the runway. Sharp mannish tailoring because, again, this was the guy who invented it.

Although it will be good when the new designer decides to insert something more of himself, taking the brand forward, presenting the heritage pieces in a different way was smarter than it first seemed. And according to the Japanese newspaper the Senken Shimbun, leading buyers say that Saint Laurent is now soaring to the top of the list of customer choices.

- Suzy Menkes

It's a shame Horyn will not be reviewing this collection.

 

[Marc10]

I don't think it would professional if Cathy made a review of Hedi's collections. Even if this one wasn't horrible, her take on it would still be biased. I still think we could've saved a lot of the unnecessary drama from last season if she hadn't made a review.

 

[dior_couture1245]

I don't think it would professional if Cathy made a review of Hedi's collections. Even if this one wasn't horrible, her take on it would still be biased. I still think we could've saved a lot of the unnecessary drama from last season if she hadn't made a review.

So if a critic doesn't like a collection they should just shut up and spare us their opinion?

 

[iluvjeisa]

So if a critic doesn't like a collection they should just shut up and spare us their opinion?

Well better that than the bunch of lies emanating from Suzy Menkes....

 

[dior_couture1245]

^^I'd hardly call any of the reviews we've read so far opinions...they've all been mere observations or descriptions.

 

[Marc10]

So if a critic doesn't like a collection they should just shut up and spare us their opinion?

A critic not liking a designer's collection is one thing. A critic that's currently banned from a designer's show and just last season had a pretty public feud with him is a whole different thing. I have mad respect for Ms. Horyn, but there's no way she could write something about Hedi without adding personal bitterness to it.

 

[Izreal]

^ sadly a lot of people seem more interested in trivial ego feuds and low brow drama action then any kind of objective insight on the collection... i think suzy nailed it on the head though, pretty much sums up all the points i've made these last few pages.. B)

 

[GERGIN]

Thanks, I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds some of these clothes somewhat appealing and isn't ashamed to admit it
And I agree with you - I think this will sell. People thought Balmain by Decarnin was ridiculous and that no one would pay $1,500 for a plain t-shirt with safety pins and holes in it but those items were the fastest ones to sell out on NAP. I do think Hedi is alienating the regular YSL clientèle, but I'm not too worried about this collection not actually becoming a commercial success after all. And @GERGIN, as long as people look up to all those hipsters as their style icons I think they do have certain influence over how much people want this and I don't see why they wouldn't manage to make this a trend again.

What demographic of people with money would invest into current-trending hipster clothes? Not too many if you ask me. I'd say it again the bags and shoes i'm sure will do exceedingly well, but i'm just dying to know what the customers reaction will be when they see a typical plaid shirt at SLP? Yeah i'm even dying to see what mother would let her daughter by any of those black leather/sheer dresses? Hedi will be like the alternative reason of why many people didn't buy Nicolas's clothes at Balenciaga, not because they're too dynamic under Nicolas's circumstances, but for Hedi they are dull, not exclusive & boring clothes.

Oh and by the way, Balmain made prostitudes look expensive, Hedi didn't.

 

[Deleted member 7575]

The target audience this collection is aimed at is more likely to wear this:


lefashioninspiration.tumblr.com

Ha! True!

 

[Izreal]

you do realize this was a runway show... you've got to look through the theatrics/styling and only then might you notice the gems hiding in plain sight... the outerwear, as always with hedi is the true star... the plaid shirts, the biker chick stockings.. that's just setting mood, it's not what buyers will rush for... i will concede you can easily get distracted by the shock value of certain looks, but a closer inspection reveals garments of a much more sensitive nature.. this is the smart game suzy is referring to at the end of her critique..

 

[iluvjeisa]

^what shock value? Its just boring. I would love it if it was shocking.

 

[GERGIN]

you do realize this was a runway show... you've got to look through the theatrics/styling and only then might you notice the gems hiding in plain sight... the outerwear, as always with hedi is the true star... the plaid shirts, the biker chick stockings.. that's just setting mood, it's not what buyers will rush for... i will concede you can easily get distracted by the shock value of certain looks, but a closer inspection reveals garments of a much more sensitive nature.. this is the smart game suzy is referring to at the end of her critique..

A ) The styling is so commercial that it's so easy to look at each piece as if they were individual.

What theatrics?

Has anyone other than myself seen Hedi's SLP clothes hanging somewhere in a department and think any different than their negative opinion based on what they saw on the runway?