Hedi Slimane

Hedi Slimane (French pronunciation: ​[eˈdi sliˈman]; born July 5, 1968) is a French photographer and fashion designer. From 2000 to 2007, he held the position of creative director for Dior Homme (the menswear line of Christian Dior). He is currently the creative director for Saint Laurent Paris.

Early life

Slimane was born to an Italian mother and a Tunisian father in 1968 in the 19th arrondissement of Paris. At 11, he discovered photography, received his first camera and learned black and white darkroom printing. At 16, without fashion in mind, Slimane started making his own clothes. He studied Art History at the École du Louvre and completed a tailor apprenticeship at a men's designer house. Early in his career, he visited the offices of Le Monde, as he wished to become a journalist and reporter.

Fashion

From 1992 to 1995, Slimane assisted fashion consultant Jean-Jacques Picart on the centenary of the project "monogram canvas" of Louis Vuitton. The project invited seven fashion designers—Azzedine Alaia, Helmut Lang, Sybilla, Manolo Blahnik, Isaac Mizrahi, Romeo Gigli, and Vivienne Westwood—to reinterpret the monogram canvas in celebration of its longevity.