Tina Reviews Saint Laurent
Much has been made about the debut of designer Hedi Slimane's first womenswear collection for Yves Saint Laurent. First, the house decided to shorten its name to Saint Laurent Paris as part of a new branding strategy. Second, Slimane, a former Saint Laurent menswear designer (more critically known for his years as menswear designer at Dior Homme), was brought in to shake things up and presumably, bring in a hipper, younger consumer. I can only imagine the fashion editors waiting for things to unfold at the Paris runway show, notepads in hand.
Many were very disappointed that Slimane did not do anything to wow them. See, for example, Cathy Horyn's blog for an interesting review. Instead, Slimane went through the archives and brought back a collection of greatest hits. What is so wrong with that? His job was to wipe the slate clean of the assumptions customers and buyers had about the brand. Then, he had to draw in younger consumers. I thought he did just that. He showed fitted jackets with raised shoulders, skinny cropped pants, pointed pumps and blouses with floppy black bows that looked hip and edgy, not like the conservative, 70s inspired scarf tied blouses we have been seeing for quite a few seasons. There were long, flowing, low cut gowns with full sleeves, suede sand colored jackets with fringe, and capes. He showed 66 looks when all was said and done, which is almost double what other big name designers show. It was not groundbreaking but there were cool, wearable pieces that women clamor to buy. And, yes, we've seen it before from Yves Saint Laurent himself, Frida Giannini at Gucci, and Peter Dundas at Pucci.
I'm not going to complain about a collection that is mostly black, white and nude, super cool, and wearable all year round. I'm not alone - Barneys CEO, Mark Lee, described the clothes as "modern, sexy, desirable clothing that the Barneys customer will want." As Phoebe Philo for Celine (yes, I love her) recently said in response to what inspires her collection - "It’s a continuation of the Celine wardrobe." That is a motto that we should all carry with us when shopping - updating a wardrobe, not simply going from trend to trend, and there was a lot shown by Slimane that would really round out my own.
All images via style.com
CATEGORIES: Beautiful things
