Hedi Slimane drops 'Yves' from 'Saint Laurent' brand name

‘Back to the roots’

Slimane has worked for YSL since February and was given “total creative
responsibility for the brand image and all its collections”. Now he
starts with a bang, removing the first name of the iconic founder – a
big step for such a major brand and a move that might be seen by some as
disrespectful, only four years after the death of Yves Saint Laurent
himself.

These allegations are denied by owner Pierre Bergé, who founded the
fashion brand together with Yves Saint Laurent in 1966: “On the
contrary, this is a return to the company’s roots”, he said. “When Yves
designed his first collection, we chose – together – to name the company
‘Saint Laurent’. Slimane’s choice of a new name allows us to reconnect
to our own DNA.”

Dior all over again

For Slimane, this is not a first: he already did exactly the same thing
in 2000, when he rebranded “Christian Dior monsieur” to “Dior Homme”.
The reasons for such an operation are twofold: symbolising the
differences with the previous designers, and marking his own rule – and
the change it brings.

The very first “Saint Laurent Paris” collection, also the very first of
the hands of Slimane for the Parisian company, will be shown on the catwalks in September, and will be for sale next spring.