Hating on Hedi Slimane

It seems like Hedi Slimane might be cracking under the pressure from the negative response his first show for Saint Laurent has been met with, taking to Twitter to post a public letter to New York Times journalist Cathy Horyn following her review of the show.

In her Times article, Cathy expresses being underwhelmed by Hedi's offering, saying, "there wasn't something new to learn here" and that "the collection was a nice but frozen vision of a bohemian chick at the Chateau Marmont." She explains that she was not invited to Hedi's Saint Laurent debut — blaming this on a piece that she wrote in 2004 which Hedi "objected bitterly to." Not inviting a NY Times journalist to your show? Big no-no. 

A few hours ago, Hedi posted a letter, boldly titled 'My Own Times', to his Twitter. In the NY Times typeface, the letter calls Cathy "a schoolyard bully and also a little bit of a standup comedian" and an "average writer" whose personal style is "seriously challenged." Hedi goes on to describe Cathy as a "publicist in disguise" who will "never get a seat at Saint Laurent but might get a two for one at Dior" — a jab at her fondess of Raf Simons.  

Which bitchface would Tavi do?

We imagine Saint Laurent's PR being two valium and a stiff drink deep on the verge of a breakdown right now. There has been many a complaint in the press about the way the Saint Laurent team has gone about the Paris show.

Imran Ahmed from Business of Fashion claims he too was not invited to Saint Laurent's show after the fashion house did not approve of the publication's tone. "I must confess my surprise when I was informed by the House of Saint Laurent that I would not be invited to Hedi Slimane’s debut show for the brand because they were unhappy with the "tone of voice" that we have used when writing about YSL," he says. In the article he claims that Saint Laurent advised the publication to review all of their writing about the label.

The Telegraph also reports that the organisation of the show was a shemozzle. "For starters, there was the seating. Or the standing, with some journalists admitted only right at the back," Lisa Armstrong writes, also explaining the confusion around the name change, "YSL? Forgive me, by the way if that should be Saint Laurent Paris, Saint Laurent by Hedi Slimane or plain old Saint Laurent." To add to any exisitng confusion, there were YSL banners outside the show's venue.

Meanwhile, WWD provide criticism by way of comparison. Writing about Karl Lagerfeld's organisation of Chanel, they say, "Banishing longtime front-row types to the second row, or disinviting those who have written ill of him? Nope."

Tim Blanks, writing for Style.com, was not overly excited by Hedi's offering. "Post-show, Betty Catroux, longtime muse to Yves himself, was delirious with delight, proclaiming Slimane the savior for all womankind. But a reality check suggested something less grandiose, more in tune with the way Slimane has been spending his time since he left fashion five years ago. In the City of Angels, to be precise," he writes. "It felt like the real mood of the collection was dictated by Slimane's LA sojourn."

Ingrid Kesa