Saint Laurent Paris FW13

[Dreavan]

I think the Japanese carry Hedi's vision better than anyone else. This was true of DH, true of SL.

Mmm I'm not sure the sizing is idealistic even for japanese market. All garments run extremely skinny. But since sleeves are pretty short on the leather bikers and perfectos, they fit japanese very well.
Finally I think everybody can wear SLP but depending on your morphology, it will be very different in terms of styling because it goes from an "option" to a very different other one.

Stores are quiet nice by the way, especially the one in Montaigne. The St Honoré one is not that efficient and I expected to see more "stronger" pieces that wholesales won't go for.

[Castor]

I think the SL shop in SoHo did a pretty good job. It's one place where you "get it" When it's at Barneys and Berdorf's it's just another label with skinny jeans and leather jackets.

80 Greene. The Temple. I'll never forget my weekly Sunday visits.

I can get into some commercial stuff: Margiela, Jil Sander, even (deep breath) a Givenchy piece, but something about le nouveau SL is soulless.

[Faust]

Castor, that's the entire point, SL is MEANT to be soulless. The whole enterprise is sterile, like Slimane himself and his photos and his diary and his world. Bunch of asexual gamines that only look like they are having a good time. All surface. Look but don't touch.

[Castor]

Agreed. Perhaps SL is the nadir of fashion as I remember it. The more runways I see the more numb I become. It's not just a shift toward a more SZ aesthetic on my part, but also a total lack of vision in the more commercial brands that cannot be summed up better than SL.

[Castor]

Castor, that's the entire point, SL is MEANT to be soulless. The whole enterprise is sterile, like Slimane himself and his photos and his diary and his world. Bunch of asexual gamines that only look like they are having a good time. All surface. Look but don't touch.

But do you really think Hedi Slimane thinks his collection is soulless? I'm not sure he is in on the joke.

[Faust]

I don't know. He'd have to have a soul to know.

[tricotineacetat]

What defines the presence of a 'soul' in an article of clothing, anyway?

[Faust]

What defines the presence of a 'soul' in an article of clothing, anyway?

You will know it when you see it.

Why, tricot, are you diving headfirst into SL?

[Fuuma]

80 Greene. The Temple. I'll never forget my weekly Sunday visits.

I can get into some commercial stuff: Margiela, Jil Sander, even (deep breath) a Givenchy piece, but something about le nouveau SL is soulless.

Wait, what is a commercial brand? One that sells its wares in exchange for money?

[ES3K]

Wait, what is a commercial brand? One that sells its wares in exchange for money?

At least there are non-profit fashion labels, like DW Kanye West or Michalsky

[Faust]

Wait, what is a commercial brand? One that sells its wares in exchange for money?

Once that produce clothing that are easy to wear (toned down, simple, easily blent in) and also interchangeable (Jil Sander, Margiela, Prada, etc.).

[mike]

so unobtrusive = commercial?

[Faust]

so unobtrusive = commercial?

Playing with words can produce any desired outcome. You can say "unobtrusive" and I can say "bland." There is a bit of overlap and neither is wrong but it produces a different effect. But you will know when you see it.

[Castor]

Commercial for me really just means mass market (at any price). The luxury brands have all become more commercial in the past decade to please shoppers, who by and large are not into fashion. They just want to own a black sweater with a label in it. Nothing wrong with commercial, it's just not what I am (and most people on this forum) are into.

Hedi Slimane was a visionary in a different time and maybe that time has passed. He's certainly moved on.

[julian_doe]

I believe Faust is right.

We can spend days trying to compete attempting to find a word which "accurately" describes a collection, and to each their stubborn word will make sense regardless. However, (as much as I have always admired him) Slimane's recent collections have been insipid compared to how enticing his work was during DH and YSL Rive Gauche. I believe that his clothes are selling because of his name and legacy rather than for innovation and/or design and concept.