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Dior Homme by Hedi Slimane: Following Hedi
By: Timothy Hagy
Photos by Javier Mateo
PARIS, July 2, 2002/ FW/ --- On a melancholy midsummer afternoon, with clouds boiling
ominously on the horizon, it was Hedi Slimane who stole the thunder at the Paris men's shows.
"Follow Me" was the apt name of Hedi Slimane's fourth collection for Dior Homme, and the title
could well serve as a metaphor.
In an age when other designers are frantically concocting some gimmick aimed at calming
jittery stockholders, or sporting a contrived look of the moment, Hedi did what he does best:
he presented a polished collection that was pure elegance.
The show was held in the Carreau du Temple on the fringe of the Marais, and the long
rectangular space was coated in dove gray, columns trimmed in black, and >>>> signs
illumined down the runway.
As the show began, electronic lightening zapped over the speakers, and red lights flashed
briefly above the glass ceiling.
Then music commissioned from Readymade set the beat for the fast-paced presentation.
As it all roared into motion, you got the same feeling you do when a jet lifts off the
ground, guided into the sky by threshold lights.
The collection was stunning, and a further evolution of the style that is now so famous;
the razor cut, the signature silhouette, the evocative touches in leather and in chains.
There is a certain sensuousness to Hedi's work, an underlying tension that bubbles just
beneath the surface, and with each passing season, the collections become ever more beautiful.
The major addition for the Summer of 2003 is a set of Spencer-like vests and waistcoats that
waft in white, aluminum and black satin.
The models wore the sleeves pulled back in accordion-like pleats, the forearms bare, and
the effect recalled the uniforms of the English aristocracy, the gentleman soldier of a
bygone era.
"The source for the vest was the 18th century, and what I tried to do was give it a modern
twist. Technically it was really hard to construct, in order to get the movement to take off,
but it was worth the effort," Hedi told FW backstage.
Hedi's afternoons are spent, perched on a felt bench in his atelier, observing motion
effecting the clothes, and the clothes affecting motion.
This approach to the creative process results in trousers that float, tails and scarves that
swirl.
It is just one of the many intricate details that give his clothes so much polish.
A jovial Karl Lagerfeld said, "Of course I loved the show! Those vests are absolutely
gorgeous, and I already bought them all two weeks ago."
Bernard Arnault and his wife Hélène sat on one of the long gray benches on the front row,
alongside Pierre Bergé, who recently went to court alongside the workers of the Yves Saint
Laurent Haute Couture atelier to stand up against François Pinault, and won.
Elsewhere were David Furnish, the other half of Elton John, and Richard Buckley, the other
half of Tom Ford.
Carine Roitfeld, Cathy Horyn, Suzy Menkez and Isabella Blow rounded out the fashion world,
and testify to the large following that Hedi attracts.
The models were young, and enthusiastic, and backstage before the show, they huddled in groups,
chatting together in the most American of accents.
There were two Danes and one Icelander who said they got their English from watching
American television.
The guys are picked at random from cafés, trains and even the local swimming pool, and
the defining element in the selection is the way they move.
It's a testimony to the new Europe that the continent is now one big family, and the
Eurokid of today has a multinational passport.
Motion, by its very definition, requires always going further.
Hedi answered the question that burns on many minds, "Yes, of course I've thought of
designing a women's collection. Everything is a natural evolution, and it moves in steps.
There are certainly women who started with my clothes at St. Laurent, and have come over to
Dior, and so it's more a question of how it works itself out."
And when that day comes, the building storm will finally break loose upon the fashion world.
In the meantime, Hedi says that he works with an eye toward the future, seldom glancing back.
And that is just the reason he leads, while others follow.
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