Hedi Slimane is at it again! Like it or not, the latest Saint Laurent Paris campaign came out this past week featuring Daft Punk. Slimane has kept a consistent image throughout his campaigns. This image is slowly evolving into the persona of the Saint Laurent Paris brand, one which is very different than the brand image of Yves Saint Laurent. While parallels between Coco Chanel and Karl Lagerfeld can be drawn to Yves Saint Laurent and Hedi Slimane, it is important to take note of the one critical difference, the brand. Lagerfeld chose to keep the Chanel brand while Slimane chose to rebrand YSL to Saint Laurent Paris.
Whether you agree or disagree with the decision to rebrand YSL to SLP, the point remains that the choice was to rebrand and from a rebranding perspective Slimane has defined a clear and concise image that he intends to portray. Now, I am unsure of how this will impact the YSL shoppers or if the rebranding comes with a completely new target market as well.
I also wonder if more people would be accepting to the idea of the Saint Laurent Paris collection if it were for example Hedi Slimane’s own line and not a rebranding of Yves Saint Laurent. Could the respect for the iconic Yves Saint Laurent brand be detrimental to Saint Laurent Paris as a fashion house? Well, it seems as though Saint Laurent Paris is doing just fine according to NYMag article.
One thing is for sure, Slimane did not waste any time making Saint Laurent Paris into a brand. It would have been very easy for the strength of the brand to dwindle with the change in Creative Director but the brand is definitely consistent.
Regardless to what your opinion is on how Slimane is handling the situation it seems as though Saint Laurent Paris is definitely selling, according to an article on NYMag. Even though Saint Laurent Paris is the brand that everyone loves to hate, Slimane must be laughing all the way to the bank. His marketing and branding tactics are truly genius and it is reflected in his sales.
NYMag: Hedi Slimane’s Controversial Saint Laurent Clothes Sell Like Hotcakes
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| NY Daily News |
