With rockabilly crops, swaggering hips, and skin-tight pants, this could only have been a Hedi Slimane show. His second season with Saint Laurent, Slimane’s spring 2014 collection was an ode to teenage dreams, staged on a dark set with flashing strobes and a soundtrack of Sam Flax’s Bay Area psychedelia.
Slimane chose the anti-model to parade the runway of the Grand Palais; they were California’s Lost Boys, London’s Libertines, or New York’s New York Dolls. Subcultural references prevailed throughout, from Bowie to Richard Hell. Slimane has always held his musical influences close to his heart, and this latest collection cements him as the enfant terrible of fashion.
The sportswear and utility trends that appeared across much of the season were nowhere to be seen on Slimane’s runway. Instead, there were toothpick silhouettes made up of shiny leather trousers, streamlined smoking tuxedos, and rakishly short, tailored jackets. Gangly models sported 50s era, satin varsity jackets – often detailed with sequined embroidery – while bandanas, pointy toed shoes, and electric pink cowboy boots all made a star performance.
Slimane has never been one to waver when it comes to industry approval – chopping off the Yves from Saint Laurent was enough to prove that. What is clear, especially with this collection, is that the French designer is continuing to powerfully reinvent the iconic brand, and we for one can’t wait to throw on a sequined tuxedo jacket and channel some rockabilly glam.
