Paul Deneve

Hedi Slimane's first big move as creative director of Yves Saint Laurent will be to change the brand's name to Saint Laurent Paris.

The switch was confirmed Thursday after rumors circulated Wednesday. Saint Laurent CEO Paul Deneve explained the change to his staff in an internal memo:

"I am very pleased to announce an exciting step in the history of our brand and our business. As part of our strategy to become one of the world's true leaders in fashion and luxury, we are transforming the name of our brand from 'Yves Saint Laurent' to 'Saint Laurent Paris.' The new name of our brand has been shared with the media today. The brand identity and visual language will be introduced over the next several months and will be fully in place for the Spring/Summer 2013 collection. This change celebrates our legacy and heritage, while boldly marking our ambition for the future. It will allow us to return to the fundamentals of YSL and revive the spirit and the intentions that reigned over the creation of 'Saint Laurent Rive Gauche' in 1966: principles of youth, freedom, and modernity."

While the name of the brand will change, the house's iconic YSL logo — a French cultural icon — will not disappear. However, Slimane also plans to reintroduce the original fonts that were used when the Rive Gauche line launched in 1966. (At right, an ad announcing the opening of the store.)

Slimane, who took over the creative director's chair from Stefano Pilati in March, will present his first two collections for the house — men's Spring 2013 and women's Resort 2013 — to buyers only. He intends to make his first big statement to the press with his Spring 2013 collection during Paris Fashion Week later this year. When he assumed control, Slimane was given "total creative responsibility for the brand image and all its collections."

Photo: The finale of Yves Saint Laurent's Fall 2012 show.

>> For the better part of a year now, Stefano Pilati's standing at Yves Saint Laurent has been under intense scrutiny. After reports circulated that he had renewed his contract at the house for three more years in October, the rumors of his imminent departure subsided — until Saint Laurent CEO Valerie Hermann, who with Pilati restored the house to profitability, announced last week she was stepping down to become CEO of Reed Krakoff on April 1. She helped recruit her successor at YSL, former Lanvin CEO Paul Deneve.

Then, a couple of days ago, someone tweeted under Kenzo's PR handle: "Just heard BIG news about this being a certain designer at an established French house's last season and being replaced by someone major!!" and "CEO has just left and now the designer replaced by someone who has moved away from design the last couple of yrs but stayed in fashion." The tweets — which seem to point to Pilati as the deposed and Hedi Slimane as the successor — have since been taken down (Note that YSL is under the PPR umbrella, whereas Kenzo is part of LVMH).

Now, Hint is reporting that according to sources, Hermann didn't leave her post last week, but rather was let go because of low sales volume. And Slimane — who designed for Saint Laurent before Dior Homme — has been chosen as Pilati's replacement, partially due to his friendship (read: ability to get along) with Pierre Berge. Word is, one way or another, the matter will be addressed by a spokesperson around Paris Fashion Week.

And in the aftermath? There's already been suggestions that Carine Roitfeld with consult for Slimane at the brand, and of course, there's the rumor that Pilati is set to take over at Giorgio Armani after the designer's retirement.