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A Hedi new experience - interview with Yves Saint Laurent designer Hedi Slimane - Interview
Interview, March, 1999 by Karl Plewka
Yves Saint Laurent's recently appointed menswear designer Hedi Slimane may have looked to the line's illustrious past when reconceiving the collection, but what he's cooking up is all about the future
When Paris-born Hedi Slimane was named director of menswear for Yves Saint Laurent two years ago, one of the first things he learned was that Saint Laurent's original intent in launching the Rive Gauche Homme collection, in 1969, was to provide contemporary clothes for himself and the style leaders of the time. Times, however, have changed - and installing Slimane at the creative helm of Rive Gauche Homme was a brilliant move. Under Slimane's guidance, Rive Gauche Homme has gone back to its roots in order to move on, and fashion insiders can't get enough of it.
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KARL PLEWKA: DO you work very closely with Mr. Saint Laurent?
HEDI SLIMANE: No, not with Mr. Saint Laurent himself, but with what he does, or has done. Unfortunately, very little has been preserved from those original Rive Gauche collections, so I must rely on drawings and on what he does for women's haute couture for inspiration.
KP: Many of the ideas you incorporate into the Rive Gauche Men collection for spring '99 suggest you have been inspired by pop icons. Can you tell me about that?
HS: In the beginning, YSL Rive Gauche was worn by stars and celebrities. One had the impression that clothes that fit and looked like couture had a lot to do with what these people wanted to wear at that time, so this season was very much about getting back to this idea. Specifically I was inspired by icons like David Bowie and Mikhail Baryshnikov, as Mr. Saint Laurent has been.
KP: How do you feel about menswear in general right now?.
HS: I think it's a great moment for menswear. I see more and more men trying to make an effort in the way they dress - they seem to want to dress up again - and I quite like that. But we still have to work to get away from the tendency to put men into uniforms, like all the so-called utility fashions we're seeing so much of today.
KP: You've found a way to create beautiful, couture-feeling clothes for men that somehow avoid that sense of ostentatiousness. The '80s were a very different time, of course, but just think about how easy it was then fur a man Interested in clothes to fall into the trap of being a fashion victim. What sort of man is buying Saint Laurent today?
HS: The customer is changing because men in general are changing so much, so at the moment I'm not really sure who our clients are. The only thing I know is that something about men has changed completely, and it's opened things up enormously for me. But with menswear, changing the number of buttons on a jacket can still create a scandal! That's something I find unbelievable.
KP: You recently opened a store on Wooster Street in New York City's SoHo. How has the reaction to the collection differed In New York and Europe?
HS: The way the clothes are viewed in each country has a lot to do with the social culture there. The United States, of course, has its own particular culture - I think people there still like to dress to go out, to go to an opening, whatever. Americans tend to look at the clothes as designer pieces, whereas in France, they're more frequently viewed as just very good, luxurious clothes.
KP: Watching the show recently and seeing the clothes in the showroom, I got the sense that you are intent on allowing the customer to have some space to be an individual in these clothes. Is that important to you?
HS: Yes, of course. I would rather have people go to the rack and have fun picking out things that really suit them. Hopefully the clothes let you be yourself; that is important. Of course, sometimes you also really want a bit of fantasy, you want to dress up, become a demimondain. KP: There is a little touch of femininity in your clothes, which I think is important to make menswear look elegant. Do you agree with that? HS: Since I am referring to Mr. Saint Laurent's work and his vision in designing the original Rive Gauche clothes, as well as the couture, that's unavoidable. But personally I love the feeling that this could be couture for men. It brings a kind of sexiness to wearing a suit, something that by its nature isn't all that sexy.
KP: You are doing a let of retailoring of traditional and classic ideas, like the tuxedo swimsuit with its double satin side stripes from your spring collection.
HS: Every piece in this collection is made from a starting point in tailoring. And I'm always thinking of how we can move to another place in fashion. One idea I really love is tuxedo-style beach wear. In envisioning the piece you mention, I worked with the idea of a guy who goes to a party on the West Coast and has a tuxedo on and suddenly everybody wants to have a swim in the ocean, so he takes off his clothes, and voila - he's wearing this whole matching outfit, you know, like a twin set. [laughs] It's not a joke, it's a fantasy. I also really like the whole matching idea. For instance, we did a pair of eyeglasses that are only sold with a matching square enamel ring.
