Christian Louboutin is glad he hasn’t been swallowed by the luxury giants and Hedi Slimane, Yves Saint Laurent’s freshly minted creative director, gets the seal of approval from Pierre Berge.
The shoe designer – who is to be the focus of an exhibition at London’s Design Museum – is delighted he has managed to maintain independence for his label and continue to run it in exactly the way he has wanted for the last two decades.
He told Attitude magazine, “I’ve not been eaten and beaten by the giants of luxury.
“I started the company 20 years ago with two of my best friends and I always heard the working with friends is, in general, a disaster, but it’s been very much the opposite..
“I’m very happy to have kept the relationship with the two people who started the company with me.”
However, Christian admits he can be a struggle to work with because he is reluctant to let things go.
He added, “Mostly what I hear is that I’m very positive, optimistic and enthusiastic.
“I have too much energy. The negative thing is that I never let things go.”
The designer was recently named as the French fashion house’s new creative director and while Berge – the former partner of Yves Saint Laurent – thinks he’s a great choice, he knows he has his work cut out.
He told T Magazine, “It’s a great problem, very complicated, to recreate the work of a genius. Like trying to rewrite Faulkner. To put your stamp on the name of Yves Saint Laurent requires someone who has talent, conviction, rigor, a demanding nature and a great sense of color.”
But Berge – who has always been a Slimane fan – knows the French-born sartorialist will not disappoint and will cope with the pressure put on him.
He said, “He is a man of talent who can preserve the genius and legacy of Yves Saint Laurent.”
Paul Deneve, chief executive officer of Yves Saint Laurent, has previously said Slimane – who was once head of Dior Homme – was the perfect person for the job.
He said, “Hedi Slimane’s exceptional talent and understanding of the spirit of Yves Saint Laurent heralds a promising new chapter in the story of the maison.”
