WTF? The Uber Iconic Yves Saint Laurent Fashion House Has New Logo + Name
New YSL director Hedi Slimane apparently doesn’t like the “Y,” or the name of the company he’s working for.
-PJ Gach
Yves Saint Laurent on so many levels changed the way we think about and view fashion. His designs were groundbreaking and gave women sartorial freedom. To discuss all of his innovations could take hours. Here’s just one example of his genius: YSL created the Le Smoking, a sexy take on the classic tux for women. Until he did it, the very idea that a woman could wear pants in the evening was unheard of! What he did for the now ubiquitous Boho style, check his Russian influenced collection and you can see how what he did in the ’70s reverberates even today.
Now Hedi Slimane, one of the “bad boys” of fashion has now resurfaced, after being let go from Dior so many years ago, and who designed for YSL Homme in the ’90s, is now the Creative Director of YSL. One of the first things he’s done is change the logo. This move, in my oh so humble opinion, is stupid.
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Yesterday, Fashionista reported on the logo change and the name change. Slimane is using YSL’s logo from the ‘60s, back when YSL was the first French couturier to create a ready-to-wear line. It was called Saint Laurent Rive Gauche, later shortened to Rive Gauche. So, Slimane is rebranding the fashion house with a logo and a name that hasn’t seen the light of day in years. A good thing? He’s using Saint Laurent Paris for the label and logo. How quickly would you grab something with the label Saint Laurent Paris? Would you take a double look and think it’s a fake? You know something that “fell off the back of a truck?” Would you think it’s a do-nothing brand with over-reaching expectations? Do you even care?
Maybe I’m overreacting, but to me, it seems that in one swoop Slimane wants to wipe out a legend. By simply taking out the first name, Yves, he reduces an iconic fashion company into something ordinary. It would be like taking Chanel and calling it The Little Black Dress Ltd, simply because Coco Chanel initially made a name for herself creating (among other items) the classic LBD.
I do wonder if there’s enough of a public uproar will the logo and name change really happen? Remember when Gap revealed their new logo, a weird blue box, it was met with nasty comments by the thousands.
However, I quite understand the idea of making your mark, that you want to show the world that you have a unique vision and are a force to reckoned with. I just don’t think you have to do it by dancing on a grave.
PJ Gach is Senior Editor: Style + Beauty at BettyConfidential.
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