The Intertext Of Hedi Slimane II

1. Saint Laurent Spring/Summer 2013
2. Saint Laurent Fall/Winter 2013
3. Saint Laurent Spring/Summer 2014

Until now, I wasn't that much aware of the Slimane gender blending. Yes, the womenswear invite showed men in suits (swaying a hat) and the menswear invite featured an illustrated (vaguely feminine) heart, yet, the crossing of sexuality seemed nothing more than a visual/conceptual tease. Androgynity was always on Hedi's Dior Homme agenda. With his offerings for Saint Laurent, it feels more like a campaign for asexuality. In fact, he creates duplicates, an intertext within his own world. That of sequins, bows and leopard print. I am buying it. Lipstick included.
/HORST

The Intertext Of Hedi Slimane

1. Raymond Pettibon Invite, Saint Laurent Fall/Winter 2014
2. Saint Laurent Fall/Winter 2014
3. John Baldessari Invite, Saint Laurent Fall/Winter 2014
4. Saint Laurent Fall/Winter 2014

The artists Slimane chooses and the symbols their invitation artworks depict imply a crossing of meaning. Comic-like figures with disturbing, poetic and ambiguous undertone? The anti-authoritarian spirit of youth? Pettibon! Menswear! The appropriation of the found image as art practice? Endless repetition with subtle changes? Baldessari! Womenswear! 9 classic jackets over sparkly dresses...
/HORST

Versus Versus Slimane

1. Versus Spring/Summer 1996
2. Saint Laurent Spring/Summer 2014
3. Versus Spring/Summer 1996
4. Saint Laurent Spring/Summer 2014
5. Versus Spring/Summer 1996
6. Saint Laurent Fall/Winter 2013

What Gianni Versace's Versus has in common with Hedi Slimane's Saint Laurent is a love for youth - a playful youth with attitude: rich, reckless and borderlining towards the tacky. Things that the young want to wear while being criticized for it.
/HORST

Midrift

1. Leon Mark Common & Sense Man, 2013
2. Tetsuharu Kubota We've Come Too Far, 2013

What is left when fashion's de-sexualization of the male physiognomy is running out of options? After the men's corset, the men's bra and the men's dress, the new 'thing' is an exposed lower upper body. Eventually, this part is the highest art.
/HORST

Aoyama, 2013

or 'Motif Repeats Itself'

Skirt Comme des Garçons Homme Plus
Belt Comme des Garçons Homme Plus
Cut-out shirt Comme des Garçons Homme Plus
Ruffle bib Comme des Garçons Homme Plus
Shoes Saint Laurent

Combining the schizophrenic brainchild of Makoto Aida (Harakiri Schoolgirls, 2002) and John Baldessari (Three Figures With Manhole, 1988), Photo Booth and Photshop have assisted me in creating a new biotechnical race: the school boy-cum-girl.
/HORST