Will it Help or Hurt the Brand in the Long Run?

Regardless of what led to the backlash, the rebranding should benefit Saint Laurent. “He got loads and loads of free publicity as soon as they made this move,” said Tungate. “We’re still talking about it now. Before he’s even shown one item of clothing, everybody’s talking about this incoming designer…so it’s kind of a nifty bit of PR.”

“Even for a new customer looking into it, it gives them a way of learning about the brand and about the heritage at the same time,” offered Rosenbluth. “They also created a dialogue espec through social media that wasn’t present before at YSL.” Those 513 Facebook photo commenters who posted on the first photo Saint Laurent released of the new logo have to at least agree with that, right?

Plus, Rosenbluth believes people will eventually get over it. “Normally, people’s initial response [to change] is to say, ‘No I dont like it–it’s different,’ and usualy that fades over time.”

So when will people begin to accept this particular change? Maybe when there’s an actual clothing collection to go along with it–like tomorrow. We can’t wait to see what Slimane has in store.