Hedi Slimane’s Saint Laurent Debut–and Subsequent Backlash
Slimane’s debut show for Saint Laurent was quite likely the most buzzed about show of the season, arguably even beating out Simons’ debut for Dior. Part of the reason it was so hyped up was because of the brand changes Slimane had implemented a few months before–and because the show would mark Slimane’s first time designing since leaving Dior Homme five years ago, and his first womenswear collection. It was expected that the collection would revolutionize womenswear–but many critics felt it fell short (though buyers, apparently, were into it). Adding fuel to the fire, were complaints from various news sources about the way the press had been treated, slamming the brand, and Hedi personally, for trying to control press reactions. Then, of course, there was the Cathy Horyn debacle, which we’re getting to next.