Text: Dariga Masenova DESIGNERS LOVE TO EXPLORE THE FACES OF THEIR CREATIVITY. KARL LAGERFELD TAKES A FILM, HELMUT LANG WRITES PICTURES, AND THERE EDI SLIMAN SERIOUSLY DOES PHOTOGRAPHY AND LOVES TO REMOVE SHOW BUSINESS STARS. For example, one of its large-scale home projects SAINT LAURENT received the name MUSIC PROJECT.
In May 1971, the future fashion world master Yves Saint Laurent dresses the most stylish and noisy “couple” of that time, Mika and Bianca Jagger, for their wedding in St. Tropez ... It’s interesting that many years later, the creative director of Saint Laurent House Edie Slimane also sews stage costumes for a rock and roll star and takes Jagger to his camera. Slimane began to show interest in music long before starting work in the House. In the late 1990s and 2000s, the designer sews clothes for her favorite musicians: David Bowie, Franz Ferdinand, The Libertines and The Kills. In addition, he documents the concert performances of stars and their lives behind the scenes.
Known as the “fashion rock star,” Slimane becomes the author of a skinny silhouette he created while working at Dior. The silhouette formula is made up of tight trousers and a fitted jacket of "zero" sizes and is popularized in the 90s by rock musicians. Karl Lagerfeld himself is losing 40 kg for the sake of this image! And if you remember that Cate Moss and Cate Blanchett appear in public in Edie Slimane's men's jackets for Dior Homme, it becomes clear where the androgyny fashion comes from.
It is not surprising that, having stood at the helm of the House of Saint Laurent, Slimane primarily revives the ties that once connected rock musicians and the French House. In 2013, he began work on a series of black and white photographs depicting rock and punk legends dressed in costumes and dresses by Saint Laurent. This kind of album was called Music Project.
The first person in the project is the lead singer of Girls Christopher Owens. A characteristic style of Slimane is that the photos or accessories of the brand are not necessarily visible. Photography only conveys the mood and idea of the photographer: in the first picture, for example, the musician is captured from the back, and the emphasis is on his tattoo.
Following the lead singer of Girls, Sliman Love, the legend of American alternative rock Kim Gordon, the “dark prince” of show business Marilyn Manson, as well as guitarist Curtis Harding, singer Marianne Faithfull and the soloists of Architects of Rock and Blues, fall into the lens of Slimane. Separate applause deserves a photo shoot with the talented duo Daft Punk, who made a lot of noise at the last Grammy ceremony.
Sliman's photographs always turn out to be lively and more like photo art than fashion-shooting. By the way, Slimane gives musicians complete freedom to style their own images, and in exchange receives original tracks for fashion shows.
