A review of the Saint Laurent Spring 2016 ready to wear with references of brand heritage; fashion history and cultural context.

1. It became obvious since Heidi Slimane showed his first collection as
creative director for Saint Laurent that he’s all about the rock’n’roll attitude.
When the designer presented his Spring 2016 ready-to- wear collection
for the Parisian household, it was no
surprised that his inspirations were
Kate Moss and Courtney Love in their
best 90s vibe.
The designer made some major
changes, from the start in the Saint
Laurent brand, and it is something
that people in the fashion industry are
still trying to get used to it. He’s
aesthetic seems, on the surface,
completely different from the
matriarch of the brand, Yves Saint
Laurent.
Saint Laurent is seen in the
fashion community as a brilliant
designer/courtier and influencer. He
supported the youth’s revolution and
wanted to contribute to its constant
changes. The designer’s goal was to
give an identity for young people that
could be easily recognised over time.
In Saint Laurent’s vision, fashion
comes and goes very easily between
seasons, but; style has the power of
breaking through barriers of time.
Like Saint Laurent, Heidi Slimane is trying to leave a
mark on the fashion community by sticking to one style and
renewing it every season. Slimane likes fearless young
women. This season, he trades their oversized cardigans and
mini floral dresses to transparent lace dress with visible
panties and rubber boots. It seems like the designer is taking
his famous California grunge style to Paris, upgrading
grunge to a new and unknown level of glamour.
Courtney Love is not a
stranger to Slimane, who
has the love for bad girls
and their trashy chic
style. From left to right:
Courtney Love in the
1990’s; Saint Laurent
Spring 2016.

2. Grunge is not familiar to glamour. Actually, in the past, it was not familiar
to fashion at all. It was a fashion/music movement that started in late 1980’s to
mid 1990’s with an unprivileged and depressive young generation from Seattle;
who dressed in plaid shirts, old
grandpa cardigans and unwashed
jeans. At the beginning, this
“lumberjack” style wasn’t anything
other than cheap clothes found at
Thrift shops.
Grunge music spoke to a large
group of young people who also felt
empty inside and were lost
regarding the future. Over time, its
style became a uniform for those
who identified themselves with the
movement. Wearing plaid shirts and
Doc Martens wasn’t anymore just a
cheap choice at the Salvation Army;
it was part of their identities.
Yves Saint Laurent praised in fashion the construction of an eternal style.
The Le smoking is to this day considered a timeless outfit. From left to
right: The original Le Smoking (1966); Bianca Jagger in a custom Yves
Saint Laurent (for her wedding with Mick Jagger, 1971); Heidi Slimane
interpretation of Saint Laurent’s suit (2014).
Kate Moss’s (left; Perry Ellis 1993 collection)
“heroin chic” style reflected grunge’s fashion
trend; Kurt Cobain (right) is the most
important icon for the grunge movement.
His heavy lyrics and shaggy style made a
statement.

3. Slimane is currently one of the strongest designers in the fashion industry
for perfectly renewing the brand’s young essence. But, you could easily say that
his success is due to perfect timing. When Marc Jacobs showed his Spring 1993
collection for Perry Ellis, he received some brutal critics about his choice of
putting the grunge culture as a relevant matter for fashion. Today, Jacob’s
collection is seen as emblematic for being “before its time”.
Perhaps it was an
accidental movement with no
goals, however, it gave a
voice to a lost and
emotionally damaged
generation.
What Jacobs tried to
present at 1993 was the
transformation of a
movement into a fashion
statement. Thus he was doing
the same thing as Heidi
Slimane is presently
designing, it just wasn’t the
right time.
Grunge social purpose
is seen today with a new
perspective. Probably is
related with the fact that
today’s young generation is
more focus and driven. That
is possibly the reason why Heidi Slimane is such a
coveted designer among the youth. He gives then the
freedom to choose their own identity trough the
development of an individual style. With this collection,
it’s safe to say that Yves Saint Laurent would’ve
approved Slimane’s new approach in the fashion
industry.
In the 1990’s, grunge’s
young crowd was
misunderstood and judge
by outsiders of the
movement. They were
seen as drug addicts,
fuelled by sadness and
frustrations. (Left, Vogue
December 1992); Young
people today develop the
“youniverse” culture,
where everything circles
around them. Slimane’s
grunge style gives them
the visual empowerment
that they need (right,
2015).