Iconic menswear designer Hedi Slimane’s creativity knows no bounds—most well known as art director for Yves Saint Laurent from 1993-99 and creative director of Dior Homme 2000-07, Slimane is also a writer, furniture designer, musician and fashion photographer. He is famous for creating the “new male ideal” in the early 2000’s. By designing slim-cut menswear and employing very thin models, Slimane introduced the waif look into men’s fashion and changed the predominant high-fashion ideal from muscular and aristocratic to pencil-thighed and androgynous.
Slimane has archived his photography in his Fashion Diary, including incredible shots of fittings for all of the YSL and Dior shows he directed. The photos are fantastic, and it’s very cool to see the way Slimane chooses to document his own designs.
While his skinny male aesthetic was most influential during his time at Dior, it is evident even in his YSL photos…
As is his exploration of androgyny, which here crosses into the feminine.
P.S. How similar is this photo to Max Beerbohm’s dandy self-caricature?? I wonder if it was intentional.
Photos via Hedi Slimane (YSL fittings), The Cafe Royale
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