London – Although some may argue that four years is barely enough time
for anyone to leave their mark in the world, they would be wrong when it
comes to Hedi Slimane’s four year rule at French fashion house Yves Saint
Laurent, even though he did have somewhat of a head’s start as he was head
of menswear for YSL in the late 1990s.
In what some may have hoped to be a April Fool’s joke, comes the
confirmation of the of the highly acclaimed – and
criticised – creative and image director at Yves Saint Laurent. His
contract with YSL’s parent company Kering officially ended yesterday and
insiders suggest that the French designer was unable to settle on terms for
a new contract with the luxury conglomerate.
Slimane was first appointed creative director at Yves Saint Laurent in
March 2012, following the exit of former creative head Stefano Pilati. At
the time both former head of Dior, , and Hedi Slimane were tipped
as potential forerunners for the position. His appointment marked his
return to the fashion house, as former Yves Saint Laurent partner, Pierre
Bergé, first took the French designer on board as ready-to-wear director
for the fashion house men’s collection, Rive Gauche Homme, in 1997. During
this time he created the “skinny” look which later helped transform
the direction of Yves Saint Laurent, which featured a new silhouette for
men’s wear pants, leather trench coats and deep v-neck shirts. Slimane
worked together with at the time, who was head of the
fashion houses women’s ready-to-wear line, who recently left his role as
creative director at
The French designer went on to take on the role of creative director for
menswear at Dior in 2001, before returning to YSL. However, rather than
lead the fashion house from its headquarters in Paris, the designer chose
to remain in Los Angeles, where he had been based since 2007. He was given
complete creative freedom when it came to the fashion house’s image and
collections and was quick to rename Yves Saint Laurent to Saint Laurent, as
he looks back to the brand’s ready-to-wear roots from the 1960s. From his
base in the USA, Slimane began to reinvent YSL image and introduce his new
direction for the fashion house, which was inspired by the street style and
music scene rampant in the west coast. His rock-and-roll music style, rife
with leather jackets, skinny silhouettes, short skirts provided to be an
immediate hit and inspired him to revive the house’s couture line. Unveiled
in July, 2015, the collection was the created for Saint Laurent in
thirteen years and was accompanied by a campaign shot by the designer.
Famed for shooting the fashion house’s campaign himself, which are mostly
done in black-and-white and feature a wide variety of models and artists,
the last campaign shoot by Slimane was unveiled yesterday and features
celebrated model-turn-actress Cara Delevingne. The model showcases a
selection of 42 looks presented during Slimane’s last catwalk show at Paris
Fashion Week for autumn/winter ’16-’17, which drew a series of criticism
from the industry. Shown in the brand’s newly renovated Rue de l’Université
couture salons, which Slimane is said to have hand picked, the show’s
surrounding drew a stark contrast from the setting of the men’s wear
collection show, which Slimane presented in rock and roll style at the in Los Angeles, in front of
a star-filled audience.
Suzy Menkes, international fashion editor at Vogue praised Slimane for
being able to create a women’s wear collection which twisted the Saint
Laurent heritage “to the limits of decency and decadence,” which could be
seen as the “coup de grâce of a departing designer, or a genius step –
depending on how the world turns.” However, Bridget Foley, contributing
editor for Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) argues that the collection must have
been a “parody – as in a giant middle-finger parody” at Yves Saint Laurent
and the fashion house’s traditions. “Slimane went late Eighties, by which
time Yves Saint Laurent was well past his creative prime and
influence…mostly, Slimane explored a single period-piece item — the
cocktail shaker — in all its shortest, tightest, tackiest glory, with a
subtext.”
However, in spite of the differences in opinion on Slimane’s designs, the
numbers don’t lie. Under his rule the French fashion house has seen
enormous success, surpassing the growth of other, older fashion houses in a
period of slow-down for the luxury fashion sector. During its fourth
quarter, revenues at Saint Laurent increased 37.4 percent to 287 million
euros, as the fashion house reported revenues of nearly 1 billion euros for
2015, making it one of the fastest growing luxury fashion houses in Europe.
But it seems as if profits where not enough to solve the differences
between Slimane and Saint Laurent in the long run. The 47 year old designer
posted a photo on Twitter on Friday morning, which features the late Yves
Saint Laurent partner, Pierre Bergé looking into a mirror, which is said to
be symbolic and cryptic message saying farewell to his mentor.
The fashion mogul himself has been in the media spotlight after making a
series of comments which accuse designers offering modest or pro-Muslim
fashion of taking part in the
pic.twitter.com/Ld7BkrD0kE
—
Hedi Slimane (@hedislimanetwit) April 1,
2016
Only time will tell who Slimane’s successor will be, but his legacy at Yves
Saint Laurent will not be forgotten.
Photos: YSL Twitter and Facebook