The menswear business was revolutionized by French fashion photographer and designer Hedi Slimane at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Slimane was appointed artistic, creative, and image director of the French luxury brand in February 2018. Under his leadership, the line’s offerings were expanded to include menswear, couture, and fragrance collections, which made their debut during the Spring/Summer 19 Paris Fashion Week.
In 1996, he was employed by the Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) fashion business, and following his departure, he began working for Christian Dior. He later returned to YSL, where he finally rose to the position of creative director in 2012. He was the first menswear designer to be honored as International Designer of the Year by the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 2002. Prior to that, in 2008, he was hired by Céline as the brand’s artistic, creative, and image director.
It’s hard to keep up with Slimane’s life and accomplishments because he has collaborated with so many major fashion labels, but one endeavor that is keeping him busy right now is the release of his four-volume best-of box set Hedi Slimane: Anthology of a Decade 2000-2010.
The fashion designer claims that the iconography of his style served as inspiration for his book, saying, “It was just naturally the right time for me to look back at this decade and define precisely the iconography around my style, from fashion design to photography. It’s an archival project, a documentary of a time, which depicts, sign by sign, the making of my proportions and style in fashion.”
Hedi Slimane, during his time, working on the Dior fashion brand
Hedi Slimane had previously worked with Dior for a while and had held various positions there, including creative director and magazine photographer. He said the following to explain the transition: “I believe we are all doing the same thing – the specificity of a medium to be somehow irrelevant. This book is about the consistency of a visual language. When I shoot for a fashion magazine or a newspaper around the world, I still somehow pursue my ideas in fashion design.”
He experienced several significant historical milestones while working for the company, including the time he transformed menswear at Dior Homme. The fashion photographer talked about his experience, saying that he was really devoted to his work and that it was a highly creative period.
“It was a very creative time. I was extremely committed to my time. I was surrounded by all the creative and emerging talents of the decade. I dressed them, collaborated with them, and photographed them. I ended up designing the wardrobe of a generation and pushed a certain idea of men’s fashion, music related to fashion, the allure of this decade. I had no idea about the outcome. It was not about the outcome but the energy of the moment. It was just my everyday life, my friends, that ended up defining this style.”
Hedi Slimane discusses his thoughts on the evolution of fashion over time
Aside from being a fashion photographer, Hedi Slimane is also a fashion designer, so when asked if he ever misses fashion from a design perspective, he answered: “Yes, I miss the fabrics, the atelier, and the craftsmanship. I still have models and clothes around me, though, through photography. So I equally develop fashion through image making today.”
Speaking of fashion, we are all aware that technology is developing at a rate equal to or greater than that of fashion, and it has undoubtedly contributed to the sector’s growth. For his part, Slimane expressed his thoughts on how technology affected fashion.
“Fashion was reluctant at first to embrace the Internet, and it’s still not totally a natural marriage. With that said, blogs and social networking have considerably enhanced the power of fashion and changed its purpose. Fashion became entertainment, just like Hollywood is entertainment. Fashion is finally a global consideration and, of course, a global fashion business at last.”
Since we’re talking about technology, the fashion designer thinks that websites will eventually replace magazines and that fashion won’t be the only thing that technology surpasses.
“They already do, I believe, but magazines have to understand that they become the real place for some sort of creative quality in photography, graphic design, and content. Glossy magazines need to become glossier, rarer, more exclusive and create that real sense of exception to exist next to the immediacy and globalization of the fashion www.”
And because fashion is evolving, Slimane believes that it is going in two very different directions.
“Overly global luxury brands embrace worldwide domination and need to figure out how to keep their sense of exception with getting broadband. This is a true danger. Next to this, some sort of dissident independent fashion could come out of nowhere and have an instant success if the intentions are right and they’re strong-minded.”
What impact does music have on Hedi Slimane’s art?
Many people have benefited from music, whether it is in their professional or emotional lives. According to rumors, surgeons listen to music while performing surgery, and just like any other individual, Hedi Slimane incorporates music into every aspect of his work.
“My work is always about music, at least fashion design is. I only imagine a collection with a specific soundtrack and sound in general. Music defines an allure and the tempo of fashion. It defines the idea of fashion tribes, hairstyles, style conventions, etc. Music shifts fashion for a long period of time, decades in fact. This is, in fact, what my book is really about.”
How does Hedi Slimane define luxury?
Hedi Slimane has been in the fashion business for years and has undoubtedly seen luxurious individuals as well as luxurious companies or items. As for his personal definition of luxury, he remarked, “Luxury is exception. It’s about quality for me, following a tradition, an old-school definition. Luxury is about few and the best. It’s about attention, intimacy, and discretion in excellence.”
In relation to luxury, most individuals have it in Paris and Los Angeles since these cities host the majority of fashion weeks and red carpet events. Slimane has visited these two locations, and in order for him to compare them, he explained, “I reside in Beverly Hills. I have a passion for California. California is now the bridge between Europe and Asia. It’s also the nest of the Internet.”
What has Hedi Slimane accomplished most successfully so far?
Hedi Slimane has already made a reputation for himself, so what greater achievement could he possibly have? However, when asked to describe his greatest achievement so far, he is unable to do so.
“I don’t think of achievement at all since I’m never quite satisfied with everything I do. I would say that I’ve always followed my instinct in everything and my faith and reason. This might be an achievement. I don’t compromise.”
Hedi Slimane plans to return to fashion design
Hedi Slimane said that despite his present workload, which includes working on his book and his fashion photography, he will soon return to doing fashion design and may possibly launch his own fashion company.
“Yes, of course, I am, but I’m really down to earth with fashion, and I have a business and brand-oriented mind. I know what it takes to make a brand strong in the long term in a global economy. Besides design and communication, I need to make sure I have the right tools to make a new design project successful in the long run.”
When asked if he would be collaborating with a high-street retailer for his own fashion label brand, he said never.
“No, never. I could do my own jeans line, for instance, because I have legitimacy in launching the skinny jeans in fashion, and jeans for me feel like a real noble item in fashion, a social territory almost. On the other hand, I don’t like the collusion between high fashion design and high street. You have to know where you stand. I belong to luxury fashion. That’s what I’ve always felt and embraced. I like the best quality, the best fabrics, and the most creative field in fashion. I will stay consistent. I belong to this world.”
Who are the fashion icons that Hedi Slimane admires?
Hedi Slimane may have already established a reputation for himself in the fashion business, but he still has an idol, just like any other successful fashion designer or photographer, and Yves Saint Laurent is among them.
“I have some designers I love, some I’m friends with. I was close to Yves Saint Laurent since I worked for him years ago. Yves Saint Laurent simply touched me. I’m really fond of Azzedine Alaïa, who is a true couturier in a modern definition, but also within the beautiful Parisian definition. Azzedine is a really key relevant designer in the evolution of fashion since the ’80s.”
In contrast to those he looks up to or is influenced by, the fashion designer himself doesn’t contemplate how he could have an impact on the creative sectors or hasn’t yet decided what kind of legacy he wants to leave.
“I’m the last person that can answer this. I don’t think about this. I just think about my next project, whatever the consequences will be and impression or impact it might have.”
Slimane nevertheless discussed his sources of inspiration, which are primarily people in general.
“Anyone really, people in general. It’s really random. It’s always about the others. I always interact with someone else, an artist, a musician, someone. I’m not interested in an isolation process – though I can only be creative alone, and even when I was designing, I was designing every single piece or detail by myself.”