Hedi Slimane Returning to Fashion Design
Former Dior Homme designer Hedi Slimane’s loyal followers have been willing his return to fashion for years, and it seems like their moment of glory may be sooner than everyone thought.
In a new interview with Prestige, Slimane admits that he’s planning to pick up fashion design again after a long hiatus as a photographer.
“I miss the fabrics, the atelier and the craftsmanship,” he told the online magazine. “Of course I am [planning a return to fashion design], but I’m really down to earth with fashion, and I have a business and brand-oriented mind. I know what it takes to make a brand strong in the long term in a global economy. Besides design and communication, I need to make sure I have the right tools to make a new design project successful in the long run.”
Whether he intends to launch his own line or work for an established house is unclear, but Slimane is adamant about one thing: He says he would “never” do a fast-fashion collaboration. “I don’t like the collusion between high fashion design and high street,” he said. “You have to know where you stand. I belong to luxury fashion. That’s what I’ve always felt and embraced. I like the best quality, the best fabrics and the most creative field in fashion. I will stay consistent. I belong to this world.”
“Luxury is exception,” he said. “It’s about quality for me, following a tradition, an old-school definition. Luxury is about few, and the best. It’s about attention, intimacy and discretion in excellence.”
But even if Slimane’s future collection isn’t particularly democratic, his inspiration will be. “My work is always about music, at least fashion design is,” he said. “I only imagine a collection with a specific soundtrack, and sound in general. Music defines an allure and the tempo of fashion. It defines the idea of fashion tribes, hairstyles, style conventions, etc. Music shifts fashion for a long period of time, decades in fact.”
