Exclusive: The Inside Scoop on Slimane’s New Direction For YSL
Well, here is some more fuel to add to the YSL fire.
Yesterday afternoon, we spoke to an anonymous source at the company who said that PPR (YSL’s parent company that also includes Gucci, Alexander McQueen, and Stella McCartney, among others) made an official announcement Thursday morning, discussing all the changes that will be coming to the brand — including the now infamous name change — as a result of the new direction Hedi Slimane will be bringing to the label.
According to our source, there’s a lot more than just names that are changing: the focus of the company will be shifting. “Right now, what the company is doing is literally going in the complete opposite direction,” our source tells us. “Hedi is going to be focusing on ready-to-wear … He will be producing, yes, new bags and what have you, but they’re going to be all modified through his liking. But he’s focusing on his ready-to-wear.”
Handbags, which are of course one of the label’s most lucrative categories, won’t be going away entirely. According to our source, signature styles like the Muse and the Cabas Chyc will remain, though the Downtown and some others will stop being produced.
Our source also mentioned that all the label’s bags will be getting a serious upgrade as well, making sure they all get Slimane’s stamp of approval before hitting the market.
Overall, the plan is to make things more pared-down and minimal, which has certainly proved successful in the luxury market for other brands.
One big thing that is making waves in the fashion community over the last 24 hours is the decision to change the name of Yves Saint Laurent to Saint Laurent Paris, with the new name making reference to the RTW label’s original name of Saint Laurent Rive Gauche circa 1966. As seen by many comments made on Twitter, Facebook and on other parts of the web, it seems like the public isn’t thrilled with the change. Internally, according to our source, the label will really be referred to as “Saint Laurent.”
It sounds like it’s going to be an exciting (and maybe confusing) time to to be a fan of the fashion-house-formerly-called-YSL, and we all can’t wait to see Slimane’s first-ever womenswear collection on the catwalks in Paris this September.
[image via Facebook, by Mekouar]
