Yesterday, my friend told me he read online that Hedi Slimane MIGHT be in talks with Louis Vuitton. With that seed planted, we excitedly facebook commented back and forth about what that would mean for fashion. Would he do a women's line? Would he be working on Louis Vuitton? What about his photography career? Will I be able to get a piece from the collection before it sells out?! Suddenly, that little seed was a fashion forest.For those who aren't familiar with Slimane, he's the creator of Dior Homme where he worked from 2000-2007. He's probably also a genius. After leaving the house of Dior, Slimane was approached by LVMH (the French luxury goods conglomerate) about starting his own signature line, but Slimane eventually called off the negotiations. Then he turned around and became one of the most amazing photographers working today.
In all honesty, I knew Slimane as a photographer first. I came across his iconic portraits of British rocker Pete Doherty a few years ago and started regularly visiting his online photo diary. I'm in love with all things rock-n-roll— I actually have a concert journal to keep track of all the shows I've seen since moving to New York. Slimane's pictures— whether a studio portrait, a candid of a blissful fan, or a still-life of an ant hill of cigarette butts— all capture that raw beauty of rock-n-roll.
Whatever Slimane does in the coming years— whether it's more photography or more fashion or some incredible thing that hasn't even been invented yet— I'm sure my friend and I will be excitedly facebook commenting about that too.(All photos © Hedi Slimane)
