PARIS (AP) – The Yves Saint Laurent fashion house announced Friday that designer Hedi Slimane is leaving and it’s rethinking its “creative organization.”
Parent company Kering, in a statement, praised Slimane’s four years as creative director. CEO Francois-Henri Pinault said he was grateful to Slimane “for having set the path that the house has successfully embraced, and which will grant longevity to this legendary brand.”
The company didn’t name a successor or give a reason for the departure, but said it would soon announce a new creative structure.
Slimane staged an unusual, star-studded show in Los Angeles in February. His last show for Yves Saint Laurent, in Paris last month, was an ode to the big-shouldered era of Eighties disco with micro-minis and giant blue fox fur coats.
His exit comes amid upheaval within Paris’ fashion industry in recent months, with Saint Laurent being the third of three major heritage houses to announce a designer departure, after Christian Dior and Lanvin.