Tag Archives: Hedi Slimane

Hedi Slimane Leaves Fashion to Focus on Photography Full Time

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Illustration by Hilton Dresden

Hedi Slimane, former Creative Director of Saint Laurent and, before that, Dior Homme, has announced today to The New York Times that he’ll be taking a hiatus from fashion design to pursue his love for photography.

“Naturally, photography will always be there, however, I never intended to stop designing,” he said in the rare interview. “I never said I will stop designing in the future.”

So, then, we don’t have to worry that the incomparable talent will never again grace us with his sharp perspective on silhouette and structure – although one thing is certain: there’s no “Hedi Slimane” brand on its way.

He continues: “My own name was always off limits, entirely dedicated to photography. It is a necessity for me, and reasonable, to create clear, legitimate and protective creative territories and boundaries.”

In addition to shooting all of his own campaigns while head of Saint Laurent, Slimane has also taken on big photo projects like shooting Grimes for the cover of Dazed – see below:

Hedi Slimane for Dazed.

He’s also completed a photo project for V Magazine titled “New York Diary,” capturing some of the best of NYC’s musicians. And he’s long upkept his personal photo blog, “Hedi Slimane Diary.”

Read the full Times interview here.

Why Ban This Saint Laurent Ad? + 7 More Banned Fashion Ads

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The banned Saint Laurent ad featuring the model Kiki Willems, shot by the house’s creative director, Hedi Slimane.

Fashion is constantly courting controversy, whether dancing the line on a healthy BMI, playing with drugs, or pushing the art of seduction a little too far. See the banned Saint Laurent ad + 7 other banned ads here.

When you look at the most recent Saint Laurent ad, seen above, shot by Hedi Slimane and featuring the model Kiki Willems, what catches your eye? For me it was the near-unconsciousness of the model. But for the ASA in the U.K., it was the Willems’s body, how thin she is — too thin, according to the agency. I take issue with this — she’s not skeletal, she’s not imminently in danger of hospitalization, or passing out and yes, you could say that’s exactly what she did right before this photo was taken. Is this another form of body shaming? Who can say from the photo whether Willems is healthy or not? I see no flies circling.

Models with athletic, curvy figures are de rigueur now, in vogue — look at models of the moment Gigi Hadid and her sister Bella Hadid, both gorgeous, both curvy with insane bodies. See also: the uber-athletic Karlie Kloss, who posts workout videos to Instagram nearly daily. Some women are bigger, and still gorgeous, like Candice Huffine. What about the skinny girls who just can’t put on a pound no matter how hard they try, but are still healthy? Let everyone live! I say.

Does she appear unhealthily thin to you? While you mull it over, take a gander at seven more ads banned over the years, from a Marc Jacobs ad featuring Dakota Fanning to a series of Terry Richardson-lensed ads that were made against everyone’s better judgement.

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A sexualized and 17-year-old Dakota Fanning depicted with a bottle of the Marc Jacobs Lola perfume between her legs.

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In 2001, this Saint Laurent ad for Opium perfume featuring Sophie Dahl was banned.

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Tom Ford‘s 2004 Gucci campaign featuring Carmen Kass getting some controversial grooming done, shot by Mario Testino.

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Sisley ads shot by Terry Richardson. Take your pick!

sisley_bannedad_terryrichardson terryrichardson_sisley_bannedad

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Mia Goth for Miu Miu was banned for portraying a child in a sexualized manner.

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And then there’s the spectacularity of this Tom Ford ad, shot by, who else? Terry Richardson.

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Plus check out Kylie Minogue’s banned TV commercial for Agent Provacateur here.

 

STYLE SCOOP: Jessica Chastain’s Underboob, Fashion-Chasing Investors

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Mergers and Acquisitions investors are looking to fashion brands for ideas of what to buy into these days, and fashion’s eyeing M&A back. Carven’s looking for investors, as are The Kooples.

Jessica Chastain poses for YSL Beauty’s first campaign of 2014 for the Manifesto L’Éclat fragrance, styled by Hedi Slimane in a very revealing Saint Laurent dress.

Italian leather handbag company Furla is making the push for lifestyle.

Fashion mourns Dolores J. Barrett, formerly Polo Ralph Lauren’s SVP Global Public Relations, who died at home on December 24. She kept her age private.

Hedi Slimane to Design YSL from LA

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Now that it has been speculated and confirmed that former Dior Homme designer turned renowned fashion photographer Hedi Slimane will indeed succeed Stefano Pilati’s role as YSL creative director, everyone wants to know where he’ll make the magic happen. Will he stick to tradition and work out of YSL’s Parisian headquarters or will he switch the game up and design from his homebase since 2007, Los Angeles?  Ever the rebel, Slimane chose the latter. 

According to British Vogue, although Slimane will maintain the design reins from his West Coast studio, "fittings will still take place in Paris and YSL ateliers will continue to work from the label’s Avenue George V offices." They also note that London-based Phoebe Philo of Céline is the only other creative director of a French fashion house to go against the grain and work elsewhere. 

While Philo’s relocation definitely worked out for her (I’m pretty sure some Philophiles have physical shrines dedicated to Céline), I’m curious to see how the notoriously laidback LA will affect YSL’s European sensibility. Slimane’s first YSL collection as creative director is expected to drop this month.

On another note, Vena Cava now has a studio in LA, Vera Wang bought a home in LA, Céline is re-opening their Rodeo Drive boutique and Isabel Marant is setting up shop in West Hollywood—I suspect the grooming of a West Coast fashion capital. 

Hedi Slimane Heads to YSL

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Hot off the heels of Stefano Pilati’s final collection for Yves Saint Laurent yesterday, it has just been announced that former YSL menswear designer turned photographer Hedi Slimane will return to succeed Pilati’s role as creative director.

According to Suzy Menkes of The New York Times, the appoinment will be made official tomorrow, March 7. This comes after much speculation and anticipation when news broke last week that Pilati would be leaving the iconic fashion house. 

Two down, one more to go.

Hedi Slimane is Changing YSL’s Name to Saint Laurent Paris

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Hedi Slimane is certainly not shy about switching things up over at YSL. After announcing that he would design the iconic French fashion house from Los Angeles instead of its Parisian headquarters, Stefano Pilati’s successor intends to change the brand’s name from Yves Saint Laurent to Saint Laurent Paris. Bold move.

According to WWD, the revamped branding will be revealed in the coming months and "should be in place by the time Slimane’s first designs for Saint Laurent, for the spring 2013 season, hit the sales floor." I’ve used my superior artistic skills to draft a viable branding option, above. 
 
As for the YSL graphic logo, WWD trusts that it will remain unchanged since it appears on most of the brand’s famed footwear, accessories and beauty products. 
 
Slimane will be making his highly-anticipated runway collection debut during the spring/summer 2013 of Paris Fashion Week this fall. His first resort womenswear collection will be shown to buyers in the next few weeks. 

Calling Jimmy Choo a Cobbler, and Other Famous Fashion Feuds

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Thanks to an extraordinarily forthcoming Tamara Mellon (formerly of Jimmy Choo, currently anti Jimmy Choo,) the word on the street is that the man for which the shoes were named never actually designed anything. Now, Mellon has publicly called him a “cobbler”. (Burn!) Mellon, who departed Jimmy Choo to focus on her own brand, continues to air her dirty laundry for our horrified amusement (in interviews, a book, and excerpts published everywhere.) So what other fashion feuds gathered us in the schoolyard to watch?

But a year ago, respected fashion writer Cathy Horyn disrespected Oscar de la Renta in her review of his spring 2013 collection, calling de la Renta a “hotdog,” (in the surfer lingo sense of the word, meaning a showman, obviously.) A seething ODLR retorted with a full-page ad in WWD, calling Horyn a “stale, 3-day old hamburger.” The two have sort of since made up.

That time Keifer Sutherland head butted Proenza Schouler’s Jack McCollough at the Met Ball in 2009, breaking the designer’s nose. McCollough was supposedly defending the honor of Brooke Shields, who Sutherland had bumped into. Let’s assume Sutherland will never attend one of Proenza Schouler’s shows.

Hedi Slimane versus everyone ever. A few of his grievances include: making sure Cathy Horyn wasn’t invited to his debut show at YSL Yves Saint Laurent Saint Laurent because of comments she made in 2004, and cutting ties with retailer Colette (and losing hundreds of thousands of wholesale business for one season alone) over those AIN’T LAURENT without Yves tees. More to come, probably. 

Nicolas Ghesquière v. Balenciaga. When the designer left his post at Balenciaga, he broke his contracts by speaking ill in an interview with System magazine. Now the house is seeking about $7 million in damages. But who knows, maybe we’ll see him turn up at Louis Vuitton, and this will all be history.