Saint Laurent Paris CEO defends Hedi Slimane

Paul Deneve, the president and CEO of Saint Laurent Paris, has written a letter to trade publication WWD scolding them for pitting Hedi Slimane against Dior's creative director Raf Simons in a recent article.

Hedi Slimane Photo: REX

Paul Deneve, the president and CEO of Saint Laurent Paris, has criticised fashion industry publication Women's Wear Daily for an article which he felt inappropriately pitted Hedi Slimane, the creative director of Saint Laurent Paris, against Raf Simons, the creative director of Dior.

After reading the article titled 'Paris Match' by WWD journalist Miles Socha, Deneve felt compelled to write a letter to the trade journal outlining his problems with the piece, which compared Slimane's debut at YSL to Simons's ready-to-wear debut at Dior. The letter was today published by WWD .

Deneve begins by accusing the publication of inaccurately reflecting the reviews Hedi Slimane received for his debut womenswear collection at the most recent Paris Fashion Week.

"First, the article summarises the reviews as "comparatively tepid" for "Slimane's reverential treatment of smokings (tuxedos) and bohemian dresses," only quoting three editors, one of them admittedly partial (Cathy Horyn: "a cheerleader" for Raf Simons, the article says)," writes Deneve. "This does not reflect the highly positive coverage Hedi Slimane received from the press commentators around the world, from France to Italy, Japan, China and the U.S."

Deneve goes on to say that he regrets that the well-respected publication reduced the "collective talent of all designers showing in Paris to a so-called duel between two fashion houses and two men."

First look at Yves Saint Laurent rebranding

The first pictures have surfaced of Yves Saint Laurent's controversial rebranding following a name change to Saint Laurent Paris.

A photo of Yves Saint Laurent's rebranding, taken by LOVE magazine's Katie Grand. Photo: Katie Grand/Twitter

It caused quite a stir when newly-appointed creative director Hedi Slimane announced that YSL would be undergoing a name change - from Yves Saint Laurent to Saint Laurent Paris - and now we can finally see how his reimagination measures up.

The first images have surfaced of the fashion house's rebranding, courtesy of LOVE editor Katie Grand, who took to her Twitter page to share the photo. The Instagram picture shows the new 'Saint Laurent' typography, which currently adorns the construction boards surrounding the brand's soon-to-open Mercer Street, New York store. Unfortunately, according the New York Magazine , the new branding has since been covered up by posters, thanks to T-shirt brand Rocksmith (who clearly know a good advertising opportunity when they see one).

Another picture featuring a black product box with the new branding on it has also appeared in the latest issue of Vogue Paris , showing 'Saint Laurent' with Paris written in smaller type beneath, surrounded by a thick black frame.

The image that appears in the August issue of Vogue Paris. Photo: Vogue Paris 

When the name change was announced in June the brand confirmed that they will continue to use the iconic overlapping YSL logo, which was designed by Cassandre in 1963, and that the rebranding will only apply to ready-to-wear, with the house's official moniker remaining as Yves Saint Laurent.

Slimane showed his first collection for the house, Resort 2013, to select buyers earlier this month, but the world will get to see his spring/summer 2013 collection during Paris Fashion Week this September.