A HEDI MOMENT: Vogue Paris, which frequently booked Hedi Slimane for fashion shoots in his post-Dior Homme career, nabbed an interview with the designer as he embarks on his fashion comeback at the creative helm of Yves Saint Laurent. Illustrated by an Elizabeth Peyton pencil sketch of Slimane, and black-and-white photos Slimane took of YSL’s salons at Artemis headquarters on the Rue François 1er in Paris, the eight-page feature appears in the August issue, due on newsstands in France on Friday.
Key observations and revelations in the Q&A, conducted via e-mail, include the possibility of resuming couture at YSL and an official look at the revamped branding, with a photo showing the Saint Laurent Paris name spelled across a square black box.
“Haute couture is a legitimate subject for Yves Saint Laurent and could resume one day,” Slimane says, without giving time lines or defining the precise format. “The priority today is to revamp and redeploy the luxury ready-to-wear.”
The designer also swept aside several years of rumors that he would unseat Stefano Pilati at the helm of the storied fashion house. He said his first contact with YSL chief executive officer Paul Deneve was in November.
As for his view of the Saint Laurent woman, having never designed women’s wear, Slimane explained: “I approach this via a wardrobe codified to the extreme, almost ritualistic.” And his favorite YSL look of all time? A model wearing a rakish pantsuit on the Rue Aubriot in Paris, famously photographed by Helmut Newton in 1975.
Meanwhile, rumor has it Slimane is in New York this week to shoot his first campaign for Saint Laurent Paris.