The Hedi Chronicles, Part Two
In what may have been the first resignation statement posted online by a fashion designer, Hedi Slimane spoke out on his web site and My Space page over the weekend about his departure from Dior Homme. He said he was unwilling to “compromise his principles,” revealing that he first considered leaving his post at the French men’s wear brand last July when his contract was up for renewal.
He was tempted to stay by an offer to launch his own Dior-backed Hedi Slimane label, and tried to make things work for almost a year. But ultimately, he chose to leave after considering “the precedence of some designers I admire who were in a similar situation, and chose the other path.” He intimated that the management of his label was an issue stating, “Right now I feel it is very important to stay true to my principles, and the idea I have of fashion.”
The new head designer at Dior Homme will be Kris Van Assche, a relative unknown compared to Slimane, who produced art installations and photography books, as well as collaborating with musicians such as Pete Doherty. But don’t worry about Hedi too much. Judging from the list he thanked in his lengthly online post (David Bowie, Mick Jagger, L’Wren Scott, Alex Kapranos, Elton John, Gus Van Sant, Bruce Weber), he has plenty of friends to lean on.
