Saturday, July 16, 2011

Anthology of a Decade


Just a couple of weeks ago I was showing samples here of Hedi Slimane's exceptional photography (which is freely available on his blog) and now I discover he has a major photo-publication coming out this summer.

Anthology of a Decade (according to a rather breathless review on Swiss Legacy) ... presents the journey of the iconic designer into fashion before, during, and after his tenures at Yves Saint-Laurent and Christian Dior. It is in this decade that critics acknowledge Slimane to have infused men’s fashion with an androgynous, rock ‘n’ roll verve that influenced couture all over the world. In a 2003 conversation with “Interview’s” Ingrid Sischy, Slimane discussed his beginnings as a photographer: “I started taking pictures before I even began in fashion. I didn’t start with clothes until I was 16, but I had my first camera when I was 11. I’ve always taken pictures, almost like some people take notes or write down their thoughts." The four volumes reveal Slimane’s duotone photographs mixing the music scene, street fashion, and his haute couture shows, are as fresh as his paradigm-shifting work in fashion. They reveal his inspirations, his attention to both youth culture and classical references, and attest that his contribution to haute couture was maybe the constant refining of a line and silhouette that was to mark the culture of the noughties.