Dior dumps Hedi Slimane

[MikeN]

It's on the front of WWD today.

http://www.wwd.com/notavailable/dotcom?target=/issue/article/114398&articleId=114398&articleType=A&industryKw=issue&industryKw2=issuearticle

[djrajio]

Haha. Looks like Hedior will have to change his name to krisvansuckdior. What a bad move. Kris Van has no talent.

[gimmegimme]

I'd be interested hear if Dior dumped Slimane or the other way around? :confused:

...and why would Kris Van Assche want to design for Dior when he has such a successful (and new) label of his own?

[MikeN]

There are plenty of designers who have their own successful lines who still work for bigger design houses.

It looks like they couldn't agree on a contract. The article says Hedi was making crazy demands. Who knows.

[RobbertJan]

maybe it's a good thing, now he can focus on regaining his form from the first dior years

[VDSUPREME]

Not a bad idea afterall, hah I am more interested to see how KVA performs for LVMH.

[Guest itsmeJT]

i heard hedi has decided to go and be head designer for slug cluthing

[verb]

I posted that they should hire KVA in place of Hedi in another threat (possibly on TFS) and people scoffed at me Anyway, I think the mainstream appeal won't be as high but Kris has done some GREAT work in the past so there's alot of possibility here. I wish I could say we'd see a slightly reduced pricepoint on his gear as a result but sadly I doubt that will be the case.

[gimmegimme]

I wish I could say we'd see a slightly reduced pricepoint on his gear as a result but sadly I doubt that will be the case.

Ha...I doubt that too!

[chromesquared]

...and why would Kris Van Assche want to design for Dior when he has such a successful (and new) label of his own?

His label was not really all that successful, but it will be interesting to see what comes of this from both designers.

[maxamillion]

That really sucks for dior, as Hedi was for them kind of like Tom Ford to Gucci!

[Guest StuckOnStupid]

i heard hedi has decided to go and be head designer for slug cluthing

amazing....

[evisu 2000]

funny how van assche enters dior after designing an absolutely atrocious collection and hedi leaves after designing arguable his best dior collection (i don't think this is true, however). i'm definitely looking forward to silmane's own label. i don't mind van assche either actually as i think he has great potential so we'll see. a lot of hedi's clients won't be wearing dior anymore though... lagerfeld for one.

[Aeros]

This is really too bad. Does this mean that Dior Homme will take an entirely new direction or will they still stick to the Slimane aesthetic regardless of who the new designer is?

[docnbhd]

Is anyone a subscriber that they can post the entire article up?

[evisu 2000]

The Hedi Days Are Over: LVMH Dumps Slimane, Van Assche Deal Near

Published: Thursday, March 29, 2007

By Miles Socha

PARIS — Dior Homme is bidding adieu to Hedi Slimane and is close to replacing him with Kris Van Assche, WWD has learned.

Sources said the French fashion house is zeroing in on a contract with the 30-year-old Belgian designer, who cut his teeth at Slimane's side before launching his signature brand in 2005. An announcement is expected in the next few days.

It is understood Dior wants to plot a new path for its men's wear and move on from Slimane, yet with a designer familiar with Dior Homme's codes and possessing a strong knack for tailoring. Neither Dior officials nor Slimane could be reached for comment Wednesday.

The ouster of Slimane — one of luxury titan Bernard Arnault's biggest fashion talents — is bound to reverberate throughout the industry, signaling stardom is no guarantee of job security and that brand owners are not prisoners of their creative talent. The split with Slimane mirrors those of Jil Sander and Helmut Lang at their respective houses, which at the time were owned by Prada Group.

As reported in WWD Wednesday, Dior became "fed up" with Slimane's demands during protracted negotiations to renew his contract, which expired last July. Sources said control rights were the most contentious issue, with Slimane, an exacting sort, determined to nail down even niggling details about brand strategy and business plans. Since his arrival at Dior Homme, he assembled a press department independent of the main fashion house and constructed a minimalist atelier — complete with a monolithic ceiling speaker — down the road from Dior headquarters on Rue François 1er.

The failure to renew Slimane's contract also scuttles plans for Dior to back a Hedi Slimane fashion house, long a dream of the designer, who was keen to branch out into women's wear and other lifestyle categories such as home furnishings.

Sources said Dior was willing to back a signature house, but there were wide differences over the estimated value of the Hedi Slimane brand and control rights. Slimane was reluctant to give up ownership of his name, even if LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton owns the companies producing the collections of its other design stars, John Galliano and Marc Jacobs.

Sources close to Slimane indicate he is sad to leave Dior and "tried to make things work" with the luxury giant, but ultimately he was unwilling to compromise his work, especially concerning a label under his own name.

Slimane's next move is bound to be the subject of intense speculation, but sources suggested his goal is to find a financial backer to launch his signature brand, putting him in a similar position to Tom Ford, who was shown the door after a blockbuster reign as Gucci Group's creative director after he and Gucci Group chief executive Domenico De Sole failed to reach new contracts with parent PPR.

Ford's signature men's wear will be unveiled next month, and he already has introduced fragrances with Estée Lauder and eyewear with Italy's Marcolin Group.

WWD first reported a stalemate in contract negotiations with Slimane last June, and noted at that time that Van Assche was already among designers Dior contacted as a possible successor. According to sources, talks with Van Assche reached an advanced state on the eve of the Dior Homme show that summer, but they suddenly halted. It is understood Dior considered other possible candidates in the interim, but opted to resume exclusive talks with Van Assche.

A graduate of Antwerp's famed fashion academy, Van Assche worked with Slimane for seven years, both at Yves Saint Laurent and Dior Homme. Known for his sartorial style — dashed with lighthearted and romantic touches *— he first hit the fashion radar in 2005 with the launch of his signature brand, which he shows in Paris and sells to retailers such as Harvey Nichols, Colette, Holt Renfrew, Bon Marché and Printemps.

Van Assche recently branched out into women's wear, featuring such whimsical elements as an embroidered duck motif sketched by his six-year-old niece and embroidered around the waist of a white blouse. His concept is to use men's materials for women's clothing, and he has shown his-and-hers styles side-by-side on his Paris runway for two seasons.

It could not be learned if Van Assche will continue to produce his signature brand or devote his energies exclusively to Dior Homme.

Slimane's departure is bound to shock many in the industry, given the impact he's had on men's fashion, making skinny suits and tight, low-riding jeans the epitome of cool for today's young generations. He also transformed Dior Homme into the must-see show of Men's Fashion Week in Paris, drawing a Who's Who of the art, music and fashion worlds.

Designer Karl Lagerfeld famously shed more than 90 pounds simply to be able to shimmy into Slimane's spare, graphic threads, and rock stars from Mick Jagger to Pete Doherty have belted out tunes decked out in Dior Homme.

Slimane was also given purview over men's fragrances at Dior, tapping David Lynch to direct commercials for Fahrenheit and conceiving a prestige skin care line called Dermo System as sleek and exacting as his fashions, albeit with a more classic edge.

An art history graduate from the Ecole du Louvre, Slimane burst onto the fashion scene in the late Nineties as the men's wear creative director at YSL, earning standing ovations for collections that were seductively androgynous and crackling with modern energy. He was a pioneer in inviting contemporary artists like Ugo Rondinone to put works in YSL stores, putting his fashions in a broader cultural context.

But when Gucci Group acquired YSL in 1999, Slimane balked at a hierarchy that had him reporting to Ford. In spring 2000, he resigned from YSL to pursue talks about a Gucci-backed signature collection. Prada Group also courted Slimane to take over Jil Sander, but he ultimately accepted an offer from Arnault to join in the rejuvenation of Dior, which was already kicking into high gear with the arrival of Galliano.

From his first explosive show in January 2001, attended by the likes of Yves Saint Laurent, Catherine Deneuve and Cate Blanchett, Slimane imbued Dior Homme with buzz and a strong youth appeal. Detractors scoffed at his young and often painfully thin models and stick-to-the-ribs styles requiring a svelte figure and a bold attitude.

Still, his impact on fashion has been broad and many retailers clamored for a Slimane women's line, since he already enjoyed a cult female following, having dressed the likes of Madonna, Charlotte Rampling, Linda Evangelista and Nicole Kidman. Slimane also recently made a name for himself as a photographer and fine artist, with his sculptures and paintings commanding hefty sums at the Almine Rech gallery in Paris and at key art fairs in Europe.

Men's wear represents about 10 percent of Dior's business globally, but is as high as 20 percent in Japan. The Dior fashion house last year had sales of 731 million euros, or $918.3 million at average exchange rates.

[BoardC3]

I do love kris van assche, especially after seeing so many items in bon marche when I was in paris a few weeks ago that I loved, but he will never be as great as dior. Its sad, I feel like someone has died, but honestly I feel like Slimane will start up his own brand and it will beat the shit out of anything dior has a few years down the line.

[ChadM]

It sucks, but at the same time, it's a good thing. Most long time Dior Homme fans have grown tired of Hedi producing the same thing for the past few years and also the quality loss that comes along with mass production. Some say it was all a result of orders given from a higher power in order to maximize profits. I have a feeling that Hedi probably had a problem with that. It is also worth mentioning that he has said many times that he could never imagine a label under his own name...

This should be interesting.

[shinchrono]

If anything I believe this will serve as motivation for Hedi Slimane to bring his work to an even higher level. It seems like this is exactly what he needs, given the growing dissatisfaction with his work with DH.

[jaspar]

His label was not really all that successful, but it will be interesting to see what comes of this from both designers.

It definitely was not. All the retailers that carried him in LA dropped it after the 2nd season.

I think what most appealed to LVMH about Van Assche was his price and availibility. He's already designed within the Slimane aesthetic, has a very slightly established name in his own right, will probably take the brand in a slightly different but not too distinct direction, and didn't (I expect) cost very much money.

[Corbin Law]

ive enver seen kris before

and as much as i did love hedi's aesthetic

everything will get old eventually, while it wasnt getting old for me

because the whole heroin skinny shit fits me like a dream

i think it might have been for everyone else

[poly800rock]

get your jeans while you can, new guy is bringing in old cross colour cuts.

i always thought hedi was dior homme.

[Analog]

Haha. Looks like Hedior will have to change his name to krisvansuckdior. What a bad move. Kris Van has no talent.

Not too crazy about KVA myself. Still, I'm curious to see what he'll do at Dior - more of the same, or something different?

[shinchrono]

Oh shit, poly, you're right, no more "Diors" as we know them!

[chronoaug]

I'm sure you guys can still get hedi dior jeans at through the rest of 2007. The change wouldn't reflect the spring or fall 2007 line would it? Wouldn't they have already have made the fall looks?

[l3ootlegs]

ha,, after took over by KVA, it will still be black x white x grey..?

[sbbbjm]

well shyeat, i want a pair of distressed diors -- and now they are going to shoot up in price like no ones business.

also, it was either in gq or details i was perusing, but KVA stated that he is not a denim kind of guy apparently -- closest casual pants he had to jeans were some loose fitting black pants. will DH jeans be gone forever?

[evisu 2000]

yeah i've read that too. he's more into the dressed up steez. his phrase was (and i think it's a good one) 'rugged elegance'.

here he is in jeans though.

[keagan]

I wish Dior would of gotten our hero Rick Owens instead of Kris. How fucking awesome would that be? Although Ricks own label would probably go down the drain and that would be tragic.

[Guest jmatsu]

this was inevitable and had been predicted at the start of the "partnership."

i wouldn't be surprised if slimane went back to ysl/gucci group.

not that i care, but i do think it's a significant loss for dior financially.