September, 28th, 2013

PARIS | Printemps Été 2014 | L’OPEN -ED DIPLOMATIQUE

HAIDER ACKERMANN DOING HEDI SLIMANE

Suddenly, as if they are catching up to the Millennial’s, I have seen a lot of designers flavoring Hedi Slimane’s aesthetics” and frankly copying his vision by trying to embellishing it with their own couture. But it does not fool the Mannerists (yes I am one of them).

Hedi goes on the ground, cam-in-h and at Coachella’s or in Texas to shoot real people, the hip’s, those are dressing digital, you will never see a Vanessa Bruno (yesterday’s) or Haider Ackermann ( today’s) doing that. It’s disappointing. The Paris Spring Summer 2014 is not an exciting one. Lots of flafla and ruffles ..

Creativity thrives on taking risks on .. following your OWN intuition.

I am seeing a lot of blurred intuitions in Paris. You can say “yeah but Aless andro you are biased because you are a Saint Laurent die hard”. Half-true. My love is for Hedi Slimane’ COHERENCE that artistically he coincided, through music like a Taratata couturier (a french version of MTV Unplugged), with the young, riches, et ennuyés aspirations of luxury.

Hedi was fired in 2000 from YSL just on the verge on starting his Black Polished vision. He was back in March 2012 just to reset and continue where he was not been able to finish. He left us chez YSL with Daft Punk & Sequins. He came back with .. Daft Punk & Sequins. In twelve years, like Stradivari obsession in constructing his violins, Hedi worked at his talent through pho tography, HIS personal way to be .. un musicien.

Being pho tographe was being a dj.

Hedi honors music through a lense and .. an iconic Maison, SAINT LAURENT. Means meet Manners. One vision. Not twenty. One br and strategy. Not twenty. One his tory. Not twenty.

His portraits of Juliette Greco or BB King alongside Cherry Glazerr are an extended set of aesthetics like when Frankie Knuckles is doing his House thing in Chicago. We dance. Saint Laurent is the dancefloor. Hedi’s couture is A valid pulse of la jeunesse. Not THE only one. Thank god for that. Why? Because we still have J W Anderson, Maxime Simoens, Laruelle (a young bright Montrealer) or Rober to Menichetti chez Ballantyne to name a few AND vétérans Miuccia Prada, Agatha Ruiz de la Prada, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac or Ralph Lauren.

Until then, lots of designers should just tell us their vision and let us decide whether or not to embrace it. Not brocades, topaze and platitudes ..

On a last note, someone should convey to Mr. Tom Ford that the digital fashion fauna mirrors the press one: great writers and poor ones..like his PR Team ..

Con spiri to,

L’ÉDITOR