The Hedi Slimane Effect

Hedi Slimane’s dramatic rebranding of Yves Saint Laurent was one of the most divisive collections in recent memory; everyone had an opinion, some more hotly debated than others. While many found Slimane’s changes to be completely in line with the spirit of the house and a much needed makeover that pushed the brand into the future, others felt the overhaul was unnecessary, overly hyped and even underwhelming. Wide brim hats and seventies style suiting aren’t for everyone, but no matter how you felt about the Saint Laurent Paris ensembles themselves, you knew you were going to be seeing a lot of them. Like the McQueen visors and Prada stripes that came before them, those SLP hats were destined for editorials; fashion editors can’t resist a look with instant visual impact and Slimane’s designs are always distinctive.

Though the chapeaus are shaping up to be one of the most photographed editorial pieces of the moment, few stylists have strayed from the vision Slimane presented on the runway. Every so often though, the mood of the image goes beyond simply rehashing the nonchalant cool vibe of Slimane’s Le Smoking influenced style and pushes into expressive territory. Take a look at the way Lori Goldstein adds a touch of 60s glamour in the Vogue Italia shots of Fei Fei Sun, putting a more structured version of the SLP headpiece to good use but making it right for a completely different kind of mood.

British Vogue photography by Angelo Pennetta, styling by Francesca Burns