Hedi Slimane is channeling his obsessive eye for imagery into Bright Young Things, a new publishing outfit dedicated to printing his own fashion photography.
While the industry is awash with speculation about his next move, Hedi Slimane has chosen to turn a new page. Despite endless rumors linking the designer to virtually every major creative director vacancy, Slimane is instead launching his own publishing house. The venture is called Bright Young Things and will focus on releasing books of Slimane’s photography, drawn from his tenures at Dior Homme, Saint Laurent, and Celine. The man who made rock ’n’ roll tailoring a religion is now betting on books over runways.
This surprise pivot was first reported by Paris fashion journal Glitz, which notes that “Bright Young Things” is more than a catchy title. Back in 1920s London, the “Bright Young Things” were a clique of bohemian aristocrats famed for lavish parties and endless glamour – a social set that even included photographer Cecil Beaton among its ranks. Slimane’s new imprint pointedly borrows its name from that Jazz Age circle, a knowing homage that nods to creative rebellion and youth-fueled artfulness.
For Slimane, a renowned image-maker as much as a fashion designer, this publishing venture is a natural extension of his aesthetic universe. The Bright Young Things house will allow him to curate and release his vast photo archives – from backstage Dior Homme snaps to candid Saint Laurent campaign shots – as collectible volumes. By self-publishing these visuals, Slimane gains full creative control over how his work is seen off the runway.
Details on Slimane’s inaugural publications under Bright Young Things remain under wraps, and the fashion world is watching closely for what comes next. Will it be a limited-edition coffee-table book of his iconic black-and-white concert photographs, or glossy tomes of behind-the-scenes fashion moments? For now, Slimane seems content to let the mystery build.
