Hedi Slimane to exit Saint Laurent?
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Rattling can be heard coming from the world of French couture as the creative head of Saint Laurent, Hedi Slimane, is said be preparing to make his second exit from the fashion house.
The speculation comes more than a week after rumours began circulating that Saint Laurent ’s creative director of three years had left his role in late 2015, due to “creative differences.” Although the fashion house stated that the rumours concerning Slimane departure were nothing but “false speculation”, new sources claim that the designer has failed to come to an agreement with Kering-held fashion house regarding the renewal of his contract.
According to WWD, Slimane has already begun to prepare for his exit from Saint Laurent as the fashion house has set its sights on his potential successor and is said to have held numerous discussions with no other than Anthony Vaccarello. Current creative director at Donatella Versace label, Versus Versace, the Belgian designer oversees both the women’s wear and men’s wear collections and is said to have helped double sales for the brand in 2015.
Speculation concerning Slimane potential exit comes as the fashion house announces a change in plans to showcase the designer’s menswear collection and the first part of his womenswear range in Los Angeles, on February 10 as part of an event ”Saint Laurent at the Palladium.” With the second part of the womenswear collection set to be presented in Paris on March 7, talk concerning the designer possible exit has only stirred more interest in the fashion house’s upcoming fashion shows.
Slimane, who was the former creative director for Dior Homme, returned to the fashion industry in 2012 to take up the helm at Yves Saint Laurent. He returned to work for the fashion house close to a dozen years after he left YLS Rive Gauche Pour Homme for his role at Dior Homme. Upon his return to YSL he renamed the fashion house Saint Laurent and revamped the luxury labels vision by introducing darker, edgier collections inspired by grunge and other music subcultures.
His leather jackets and satchels bags have brought an influx in sales to Saint Laurent over the recent months, with the fashion house reporting a 32 percent increase in retail sales during its third quarter. Discussion regarding his possible exit from Saint Laurent comes as Slimane name has been highlighted as a potential successor for Raf Simons at Dior. However, many insiders claim that this appointment is unlikely to be made as Slimane is known his broad creative hold, one which he is unlikely to receive at Dior.
Photos: Saint Laurent Facebook and Hedi Slimane Instragram