For today's DIY, we're taking some accessory inspiration from Saint Laurent's Spring 2013 collection and teaching you how to make a fringed tassel necklace — similar to the ones we saw on the runway. In just a few simple steps, you can have your own chic Saint Laurent-inspired piece. Watch on to see how it's done! On Allison McNamara: Forever 21 top.
Those stories and more in our daily news roundup.
Some of the industry's biggest names commented on Hedi Slimane changing the name of Yves Saint Laurent to Saint Laurent Paris, but Slimane himself had remained silent until recently. The designer finally explained his reasons for the shift in an interview with Vanity Fair.
"It is interesting to see how much reaction this retro branding has created," Slimane said. "Clearly, this period of the history of the house was not well-known, which I trust was a surprise for Pierre Bergé. I went back to 1966 — just before the events of 1968 [when 11 million workers revolted against the conservative politics of then-President Charles de Gaulle — the biggest general strike in history], but the awakening of youth was in the air, and Yves Saint Laurent wanted to dissociate himself from the clientele of haute couture and embrace this new generation."
Since Slimane announced the name change in June, Arizona Muse, Karl Lagerfeld, and Bergé himself have publicly voiced their support for the change. When the house revealed an image of the new branding on Facebook last month, its followers were not as enthusiastic. One called the new name and logo "an act of disrespect" against the house's founder.
Saint Laurent, who would have turned 76 last week, was considered a pioneer in ready-to-wear when he founded Saint Laurent Rive Gauche in 1966, but he continued to design couture until he retired from fashion in 2002.
Few things gave Yves Saint Laurent greater pleasure than to see a woman looking stunning in one of his designs. "The most beautiful clothes than can dress a woman are the arms of the man she loves," he once said. "But for those who haven't had the fortune of finding this happiness, I am there."
If Saint Laurent were alive today, he would have celebrated his 76th birthday at a time of great transition at the house he founded in 1962. But he surely would have appreciated how its new creative director Hedi Slimane is dedicated to honoring his memory. Even changing the name of the house to Saint Laurent Paris has been billed as a way to "return to the fundamentals of YSL."
Those fundamentals put women first. Saint Laurent clarified that he primarily made women's clothing in a 1965 episode of the game show What's My Line? "It pains me physically to see a woman victimized, rendered pathetic, by fashion," Saint Laurent said. In honor of his birthday, a look at his lifelong mission to make women look beautiful here in the gallery.
Source: Getty
Arizona Muse has added her voice to the chorus of people who support changing the name of Yves Saint Laurent to Saint Laurent Paris.
"People who aren't in the fashion world might not know that a new designer has joined the brand, so this is a clear way of signifying that there's been a big change," Muse said in an interview. "It's the sort of thing everyone will notice, not just fashion people."
Karl Lagerfeld has also thrown his support behind the change, saying, "Paris needs some new things, some stimulation . . . I think it's interesting and it's important. Something fresh was needed."
And while other industry giants like Pierre Bergé and Betty Catroux have also backed the shift, reaction among the public has been mixed. When Saint Laurent Paris unveiled the new logo on its Facebook page this week, one fan of the brand decried it as "an act of disrespect."
Hedi Slimane, who was appointed the brand's creative director in March, announced the change in June, emphasizing that the iconic YSL logo will be preserved for use on some products. The new name should be fully integrated into the company's brand messaging by September, when Slimane stages his first show for Saint Laurent Paris.
Photo: Arizona Muse photographed by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin for Yves Saint Laurent's Spring 2011 campaign.
The brand once known as Yves Saint Laurent revealed its new Saint Laurent Paris logo online over the weekend. Said logo — affixed to a black box resting on a marble surface in the photo above — is presented in capital letters. The image was posted to the brand's official Facebook page on Saturday, and while some commenters were supportive of the change, many others decried it as a bad move. One fan called it "an act of disrespect."
Hedi Slimane, who took over as creative director of the house in March, announced last month that he would change the name of the ready-to-wear collection to Saint Laurent Paris. The shift was billed as an attempt to "return to the fundamentals of YSL." When Saint Laurent moved into ready-to-wear in 1966, he called the operation Saint Laurent Rive Gauche.
The new branding will not replace the iconic YSL logo, which will still be applied to some of the house's products.
Hedi Slimane says that restarting the couture collection at Saint Laurent Paris — which hasn't been shown since the house's founder Yves Saint Laurent retired in 2002 — is within the realm of possibility.
"Haute couture is a legitimate subject for Yves Saint Laurent and could resume one day," Slimane said in an interview for the August issue of Vogue Paris. "The priority today is to revamp and redeploy the luxury ready-to-wear."
Slimane, who had never designed women's clothing before he created the Resort 2013 collection for Saint Laurent Paris, says he'll accomplish this redeployment through his vision of the Saint Laurent woman. "I approach this via a wardrobe codified to the extreme, almost ritualistic," he said.
Yves Saint Laurent — or Saint Laurent Paris, rather — has been presenting Hedi Slimane's Resort 2013 collection to buyers since late June, and so far, the people who have seen the garments called them "very tailored and sharp." The collection is also said to be said to be "significantly more expensive than Stefano Pilati's era."
So, what's offered? There are reportedly "lots of silky, girly tops" as well as plenty of pinstripes, skinny jeans, hot pants, tuxedos, and cigarette pants. Colors range from black, white, and gray to red and fuschia, with sequins and animal prints, as well. Initial feedback to the collection was said to be "resoundingly positive."
Nevertheless, the house is definitely keeping Slimane's first two collections under wraps. In May, the house decided not to show women's Resort 2013 and men's Spring 2013 to the press so that the designer would be free to make his first big fashion statement for the house with his women's Spring 2013 collection during Paris Fashion Week. Buyers were also not allowed to take pictures during the Resort presentation, and the house didn't provide anyone with lookbooks.
On Thursday, WWD released some artistic renderings of the collection, but YSL was quick to point out that the drawings, which were penned by noted fashion illustrator Steven Stipelman, are not official representations of the collection.
"The sketches released in WWD dated July 4, 2012, do not represent YSL Cruise '13 Collection and obviously were not designed by Hedi Slimane," the brand tweeted . WWD has since removed the illustrations.
Find a look at Steven Stipelman's Saint Laurent Paris Resort 2013 illustrations, here.
— Additional reporting by Christina Pérez
Pierre Bergé, cofounder of Yves Saint Laurent, said he supports Hedi Slimane changing the name of the brand to Saint Laurent Paris.
The move, which the house announced yesterday, is designed to bring the house back to its roots as a pioneer of ready-to-wear, and that makes Bergé "very happy."
"Anything that makes the house more Saint Laurent is welcome," he said. "I am happy that Stefano Pilati is gone, just as I was happy when Tom Ford left."
Slimane will preserve the house's iconic YSL logo for institutional purposes but will employ the graphic elements and fonts Saint Laurent used when he launched his ready-to-wear line Saint Laurent Rive Gauche in 1966. Slimane will also design his collections in Los Angeles instead of in Paris — and Bergé doesn't have a problem with that either.
"The creative studio is in a designer's head, it resides within the person," he said. "Hedi lives in Los Angeles. He should be left to do fashion in a city he likes."
Photo: Pierre Bergé attends the investiture of French President Francois Hollande.
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.
