Interesting Dior Homme rumor...

[Get Smart]

from some NYC rag...


Browne tailored to Dior Homme?

The official word is a denial, but I'm hearing Dior Homme has quietly offered the top job to New York men's wear designer Thom Browne.

Browne is known for his classic tailoring and '50s American sensibility.

"Dior asked Thom Browne to take over from Hedi Slimane, but he hasn't decided yet," says a snitch.

A rep for Dior said only that he had "no information" about the rumor.

Despite a "not true" from Browne's rep, the leak comes from within his own organization.

 

[rach2jlc]

Interesting. It's no mystery that the relationship between Hedi and Dior has been a little rocky lately (they had issues renegotiating his contract; apparently Hedi wanted more money).

Personally, I'd like to see a change at Dior. Not necessarily Thom Browne, but at least somebody different. Hedi's aesthetic was amazing in 2001, but that was five years ago and it hasn't changed. Plus, Dior has really changed from its initial inception (this isn't really Hedi's fault). It went from being the brand of choice for guys who loved and UNDERSTOOD skinny, beautiful tailoring to a lifestyle brand loved by bitchy teenagers who couldn't care less whether the items are actually well made.

I used to love the brand (before the "Follow Me" season ((a/w 2003), but after that, when they introduced the bee monogram leather goods, the Dior Homme shaving kits, etc etc etc... I just lost interest.

Plus, the early seasons featured Japanese denim, high-quality cottons for shirts, nice wools for suits (and always fully canvassed), and now lots of the items are made in Turkey, the jeans are made in cheaper Italian factories, etc etc.

So, Thom Browne might just bring an interesting reinvigoration into the brand and I"m sure the bitchy teenagers won't mind, so long as Dior remains "the next big thing."

John

 

[j]

Ugh. Well, we'll see.

 

[kitonbrioni]

It will be interesting if true, but the important question is what quality level?

 

[Artisan Fan]

but the important question is what quality level?

Not high would be my guess...

 

[Get Smart]

Originally Posted by Artisan Fan

Not high would be my guess...

why wouldnt it? TB, aesthetics aside, is known for a high quality garment. And DH as well, at least in their earlier years with Hedi...the current state of quality control might be debatable.

 

[luk-cha]

i heard that kris van achee had been ask to take over if contract talks failed also that hedi had beed offerde more cash to go back to YSL but his last 3 season stuff was not as good!

 

[Artisan Fan]

why wouldnt it?

I've seen a few Dior items where the quality was not good-very machine made. Maybe Thom would improve this but history seems to suggest that is unusual.

 

[Jovan]

I don't get it. Does this mean Thom's own line will not continue? I really hope whatever he makes for them is the same quality as his own line, which is reputedly very good.

 

[The False Prophet]

Get Hedi out before he does any more damage, is the unfortunate but necessary prognosis. He has ceased to lead, and instead is merely following, and not even following anything interesting. His passing interest in skaters was troubling (how banal these slackers are!), but now he is officially over the edge. Nothing dark, nothing glamourous, nothing unique about what is being turned out.

More to the point, nothing to flatter, nothing that is (as one designer, I forget who, brilliantly described their look) "a rational proposition for living", but rather misshapen cropped coats, ties too thin to actually be worn, even the denim is uninspired.

I actually like some of the more random accessories - toiletries etc - though I'd never drop the cash, I enjoy the notion that nothing is too mundane to inject a dose of style. Or rather, nothing was, as everything in Hedi-land seems to have gotten very, very ordinary.

It's even reflected in the man himself - gone are the sharp tux jackets and long scarves that defined his personal taste, now he's out there in "ironic", "vintage" tshirts clashing with ill-fitting pinstripes.

Please excuse me if my tone is a little vitriolic, I am just torn to see the very designer who got me interested in dressing well in the first place go so very wrong. And I have no time for the rock and roll posers he associates with - Doherty &c.

That is all, for now.

Cheers,

Eden

PS. As regards Thom, he too can be guilty of some degree of poseurism. More troublingly, he like Hedi of late is too wrapped up in the past, whereas what made Dior great was the lack of historical shackles, the creation of a futuristic fantasy world. In that vein, I say drag in Helmut Lang to design for Dior...

 

[Jovan]

I don't think Browne's ever claimed to be overly modern, so how is that poseurial? Styles of the past (especially 1930s and '60s) are rather interesting to me, so maybe I'm just biased.

 

[The False Prophet]

Originally Posted by Jovan

I don't think Browne's ever claimed to be overly modern, so how is that poseurial? Styles of the past (especially 1930s and '60s) are rather interesting to me, so maybe I'm just biased.

Sorry, excuse my stream-of-consciousness writing style!

I meant to say, TB is in with the sort of scene-y New York crowd in the same way that Hedi is with the Londoners.

A lot of retro styles are interesting, some of TB's stuff included. BUT, there are plenty of designers doing it. Part of what made Dior cool was the lack of referentiality...

 

[rach2jlc]

Originally Posted by luk-cha

i heard that kris van achee had been ask to take over if contract talks failed also that hedi had beed offerde more cash to go back to YSL but his last 3 season stuff was not as good!

Kris van Aasche would be a good replacement for Hedi. I'd rather see that than Thom Browne; but then again, Kris' stuff looks like Hedi-squared, so perhaps Browne could at least do something differently.

I heard this rumor about YSL too, but mark my words, Hedi is NOT going back to YSL. Pilati is doing a great job there and most everybody is happy with the direction in which it is going. Hedi's styling and Pilati's are NOTHING alike, so to remove Pilati in favor of Hedi would be alienating the customer base they've been trying to build for the past five years or so.

So, if it happens, then I'll eat my YSL Rive Gauche rider's jacket.

John

 

[Ivan Kipling]

Slimane's designs are difficult to wear, but striking. I'm grateful at least, that Tom Ford will not be taking over Dior. He did enough damage, at Yves Saint Laurent.

 

[Jovan]

Originally Posted by The False Prophet

Sorry, excuse my stream-of-consciousness writing style! I meant to say, TB is in with the sort of scene-y New York crowd in the same way that Hedi is with the Londoners. A lot of retro styles are interesting, some of TB's stuff included. BUT, there are plenty of designers doing it. Part of what made Dior cool was the lack of referentiality...
I'm just still not getting how something is poseurial because of who wears it. van Assche is an interesting character and his fuller cut pants are definitely different from the crowd. However, the sheer audacity of charging over $200 for a necklace he describes himself as being, "like something you'd find out of a garage," has turned me off. It's nothing but a ******* chain and nut.