Hedi Slimane's sudden departure from Saint Laurent
With the rumors surrounding Hedi Slimane and Saint Laurent's relationship over the past 6 months, I am not surprised with his sudden departure from the helm of creative director. I have mixed opinions and feelings on his departure. The first feeling that comes to my mind is sadness, because of all of the positive changes I have witnessed Hedi the Jedi implement over the past couple of seasons as creative director. Let's be honest, there is not a better Chelsea boot on the market than Hedi's designs. He gave YSL new life by rebranding to Saint Laurent and moving his workspace to LA. He dressed many celebrities like Harry Styles, Lenny Kravit, and G-Eazy . He perfected the LA rock star aesthetic.
However his departure has brought me feelings of anger and confusion. How could he leave when he had full creative control? Saint Laurent allowed him to rebrand and do almost everything he wanted to do (I am assuming). He made drastic changes to the brand, and it is okay if he leaves just a couple years after? I don't think Hedi owes Saint Laurent anything considering the amount of revenue his designs brought in, but it just seems insane that he would bother to give new life to the brand and change everything just to have a short term run.
The question we are all asking now is what is next for both Saint Laurent and Hedi Slimane. As for Saint Laurent they have already named Anthony Vaccarelloa as the successor to Slimane ( this was a long time coming lol ).
I am interested to see if Saint Laurent stays with the same brand image under its new creative director. (we will see in the Fall)
As for Hedi Slimane there have been A LOT of rumors about what is next for him. Some say his relationship with Karl Lagerfeld will land him at Chanel. This is possible but I have my doubts.
After long conversations with fashion enthusiast like myself, we all agree that the next move for Slimane should be to start his own namesake brand. After designing for Dior and Saint Laurent over the years he has made a name for himself. His name sells clothing. He is a good designer, but he is an even better brand visionary. He has all of the tools to start his own brand and be very successful. But who knows, he might just take a hiatus and pop up a couple years later at yet another Parisian fashion house.