There seems to be a lot of ruckus about the much anticipated collection Hedi Slimane showed this week in Paris for YSL because he appears to have broken a rule you aren’t supposed to break if you work in fashion: he thinks LA is cool (full disclosure, so do I). A few months ago, after he was named Creative Director, it was announced that the YSL design studios were moving from Paris to LA and then he shortened the iconic brand’s name to Saint Laurent. Our industry likes to swagger about as the epitome of rule breakers and trend setters but really they are as clustered and cliquish (more so) than everyone else and God forbid you go against the group mentality and break a rule they don’t want you to break (I heart LA). The collection I see is gorgeous and reflective of Hedi Slimane’s menswear background in the best possible way. He did exactly what was asked of him and then some; created a slick, chic, sexy collection suitable for the updated modern YSL girl. And what exactly is wrong with rock n roll chic? Rock n roll girls are the jet setters and modern muses so I think it is exactly on point. And perhaps the reason it looks like a collection possibly intended for “Rachel Zoe’s skinniest clients” is because, God bless her heart, RZ herself adopted YSL’s classic style for herself and her clients alike and then knocked off half the YSL vintage collections for several seasons now (and done a splendid job I might add!) And who can blame RZ, YSL was and is cool.
