When Yves Saint Laurent announced that Hedi Slimane would replace Stefano Pilati as the brand's creative director, we expected there to be changes. What we didn't quite expect though is that those changes would go as far as a name change. Yesterday sources revealed that the company are current in discussions about dropping the 'Yves' from Yves Saint Laurent. The move is allegedly part of Slimane's plan to put his own stamp on the house and separate it from it's past.
So far the brand have not denied nor confirmed the rumours but considering all of the discussion about it this morning, it looks like they might be a bit of weight to this one. Am I convinced? Not really. I'm not convinced that a name change will make people think about the brand differently. In fact, it seems more of a hassle than a benefit. After all, that would mean that all of their packaging would need to change along with their classic logo.
