Don't you miss him?

HEDI SLIMANE IN EVERYDAY LIFE
After a return to the forefront of the art scene with the exhibition Perfect Stranger, Hedi Slimane investing the net with a daily newspaper. The photographic archives (castings, fittings, backstage) by the Saint Laurent and Dior designer shows us photographs on a daily basis. Day by day, the former artistic director of Dior Homme draws its vision of the world and its definition of style through photographs in black and white. The exhibition will make its next stop at the Museum of Contemporary Art Leon, the MUSAC in Spain before being published in book form. (original text)











(all images circa 1999-2000 YSL rive gauche by Hedi Slimane)
Looking at all the pictures dated back to 1999 when he was still at Saint Laurent. Fashion was not the same then as it is today. And it was ten years ago. People (myself included) were in awe of his aesthetic, I was watching at the last documentary film of Yves Saint Laurent before his retirement late last night and recalled how I felt so lucky to have started wearing YSL (by Hedi Slimane) at the age of 21, that was a special moment for someone who admire high fashion and couture, I thought I'd eventually reached to the highest of high in great fashion, a garment from a couture house that I love, and the love to Hedi's creation was a no way back. One cannot deny he brought the ultimate high fashion to street and was inspired by it as Saint Laurent used to in the 70s, what so treasure about his approach to fashion is that he's talking fashion with allure, not labels or branding. The show pieces are always also the desirable pieces without making wearers looking like a fool. There were moments around 2003-04 when he was already at Dior, that I feel certain disappointment when he started doing casual, when it's gone mass and attracted the kids to buy the sneakers, tee and denim. At one point I said to myself I do not want to have the same taste as those kids, that was not luxury anymore, and I left the shop floor.
After the announcement of his departure from Dior, I have been thinking pretty constantly about what to wear from S/S08 on, at the end of the day, Hedi's creation fitted me utterly to perfection. I can not find a substitute as good. When are you coming back, Monsieur?

Would I wear any of these? Maybe not, but...

Would I wear any of these? Maybe not. But I cannot deny the fact that I truly admire Miuccia Prada's aesthetic and visionary. She's now the only one that I bother checking on the Milano schedule, sometimes they hit me straight, sometimes I beat myself up for getting it later otherwise, but they always get me and make me think twice again who's speaking fashion and who's not these days in the scene. If Lagerfeld, a self-claimed modernist and behaving like one superficially, I think he's got a long way to go to learn from the Italaian woman who makes dress. Yes, I do think Miuccia is the Schiap for today, not Consuelo Castiglioni- no. Judging by the S/S08 shows, Prada has done a prettier and better show than Chanel, in many ways, at all levels. And needless to say, if Chanel ever launch an homme line done by Karl, which I heard is already in process, i don't think it'd work if we don't buy his KL line? why bother, Karl? BTW, one cannot compare the choice of male model, 'cos Miuccia's taste is far better than Karl's. Period.