Has this week felt as long to you guys as it has to us? Seriously, Tuesday felt like it should have been the end of the week. But finally it’s Friday. We especially love Fridays when we get little treats like this one in our inboxes.

We’re pretty sureYoungest Indie might be Hedi Slimane’s biggest fan and in his honor has created a Play-Doh/Claymation rock video with the band members wearing pieces from Hedi’s work at Dior Homme.

Um, amazing. And so fun. Enjoy!

Alexander Wang’s jumping on the menswear bandwagon.

StyleFile reports the downtown darling’s working on his first full blown men’s collection to debut in Fall of 09 and he thinks, “It’s strange that so many designers are doing men’s now…for us it’s a component that’s always been there.”

The component being that his women’s clothes are already pretty tomboyish - a kind of reverse Dior Homme - and that the boyfriends of the girls who wear his clothes need their own slouchy tanks, ripped denim shorts and tight leather pants. Actually, whether those boys have girlfriends is highly debatable.

Anyway, Wang’s already rocking the samples while out and about in the city so if you’re desperate for a sneak peek, well, we can’t tell you where to find him but we can almost guarantee he’ll take next month’s bow in the line and then we can discuss just how much the official collection will vary from his usual baggy t-shirt and skinny jean uniform.

“But the problem isn’t limited to design. The overwhelming number of people in their 20’s at the shows guarantees that everything will seem new to them. So Mr. Jones can do pointless things to tailored clothes. John Galliano can summon his pirates and tri-cornered highwaymen. Jean Paul Gaultier can pop on the Afro wigs and issue some jivey pinstripes (with a mini-me line of children’s clothes). And Riccardo Tisci of Givenchy can evoke a Teutonic fantasy with laced black-leather leggings and severely buzzed heads. There is little demand to do something that’s actually new and relevant.” - Cathy Horyn, on Men’s Fashion Week, in the Times.

Everyone’s wondering why Delphine Arnault - Bernard’s daughter - was front row at Gareth Pugh this week, sparking rumors that LVMH is gearing up to add the young designer to their luxury constellation.

So here’s the other part to that rumor:

We hear that not only has Gareth already joined LVMH, but he’s set to do so as Kris Van Assche’s replacement at Dior Homme (no word on where KVA will go).

And we’ll all read about it very soon - Vogue Nippon has a piece coming out soon that details the move.

Morning!

Hedi Slimane’s photography resume (we imagine he has a separate one for design) is growing exponentially.

He just shot Prada’s Spring 09 ad campaign - for the boys of course.

The black and white images feature Louis and Claude Simonon, sons of The Clash’s Paul Simonon, looking more moody than punk. A statement from Prada said they focused on capturing the first time models in a state of “reflection and introspection”.

Meanwhile Steven Meisel shot at least eight girls including Toni Garnn for the women’s wear campaign.

Whether Miuccia chose the former Dior Homme designer for the boys because of his fame and influence on men’s fashion or because of his photo skills, we’ll never know.

If he got to shoot the women, too, then we’d know she was just as much a fan of Hedi’s work behind the camera as Karl was of his work on the runway.

Evidently, Victoria’s Secret angel wings can only take you so far.

Jessica Stam’s decided that being taller than most women isn’t enough anymore, and is studying for her pilot’s license. And all we keep thinking is, what is she going to wear? Dior Homme jeans and Christian Louboutins may not be the most suitable attire for the cockpit, though Amelia Earhart did famously keep up appearances (most notably by always powdering her nose before and after entering the cockpit), so why go against history?

We’re kind of loving this news - it’s just another in a string of models taking up interests that have nothing to do with clothes or cashing in on their face DNA (Sasha’s an artist, Daria sails, Lily knows a lot, etc), which is admirable and saves us from groaning that they’re busy designing for Mango or something.

On a side note, does this mean she’ll fly herself to the Couture, or to shoots? Imagine the savings in production costs!

—BRETT KANE

—KYLE HAYES

A little fashion spy in LA tells us that Dior Homme is trying to get Hedi Slimane back into place.

According to them, Kris Van Assche is feeling the same corporate bullshit that Hedi felt and has had it with the whole thing.

Meanwhile, Dior itself is realizing that perhaps the reason Dior Homme was so lucrative under Hedi was because he was awesome, not because they tried hard to micromanage him.

So… is Hedi going back into negotiations with Dior Homme?

Or are there rocks in our head for suggesting it?

Question:

What’s Hedi Slimane doing in Los Angeles?

We got some e-mails spotting the former Dior Homme designer in various L.A. hot spots.

Is he casting more skinny boys for an upcoming photo exhibit?

Or is there something more business-worthy going on?

Hit us up if you know - tips@fashionista.com - and if you see Mr. Slimane and want to talk to him, here’s a hint:

Bring him a jar of baby food and you’ll have his heart forever.

Years ago, in that strange and wondrous time called the 80s, mens’ clothing ads were different.

Every man was in an Armani style power suit, presumably on his way to work, and about the age of my dad. Designers were definitely targeting who they thought could buy their clothes, moneyed older men, by featuring them in their ads.

Now, even though the target consumer probably hasn’t changed, menswear ads seem to be going the way of womens’ - that is, featuring too young boys who could never afford the clothes and overly sexual scenes (almost always homo erotic) suggesting that maybe menswear designers think that guys in rock bands can keep them in business.

Even Zegna, that final refuge of buttoned up men in expensive suits, has had an about-face with boys in windbreakers, and one of them is too bashful to tell the other guy he likes him. Z Zegna is expensive Sunday brunch gear for CEOs, not really fodder for a bromance.

There’s just something about a 16-year old boy in Dior Homme that’s a little too jokey for a brand that should be aspirational. Though we’ve been wondering the same thing about women’s ads since forever.

—BRETT KANE