We have substantial reason to believe that Hedi Slimane, designer, photographer, and newly minted creative director at Yves Saint Laurent, lives by the mantra “go big or go home.” There was no question that the former Dior Homme boss would give the historic French house a firm shake-up once he landed the coveted position early last year, but he’s made some unprecedented changes to the très classic company. Like fucking with the name, for starters — just a few short months after his promotion, Slimane announced that he would be changing the universally recognized YSL brand to Saint Laurent Paris. The industry collectively gasped, and maybe dry-heaved a little. Now it seems that the new Saint Laurent under Slimane’s jurisdiction is packaged to appeal not to the elegant, uber-chic likes of its past demographic, but a hipper, more modern audience with retro sensibilities. Read: younger. Keep reading »
