What Is Hedi Slimane Changing Yves Saint Laurent's Name To?

Hedi Slimane - YSL's Creative Director and pioneer of the name changeAnticipation is growing for one of the most hyped new appointments in fash land – Hedi Slimane’s upcoming reign at Yves Saint Laurent. Having already headed YSL’s menswear division from 1996 to 2000 as well as designing for Dior Homme between 2000-2007 – during which his immaculately tailored, slim fit clothes proved as much of a hit with fashion savvy women as Dior’s male clientele – fashion insiders are waiting for news of Slimane’s progress with bated breath.

And today we have the latest update: the designer plans to give the French fashion house a thorough makeover, beginning with its name! Yep, Yves Saint Laurent will become *drum roll please* Saint Laurent Paris. GASP.

Models wearing one of Hedi's previous collections for DiorChanel and Dior have proved that streamlining the name of a fashion house from the founding designer can be done, but we can't help thinking that 'SLP' doesn't have quite the same glam ring to it as 'YSL'. And it could get rather confusing with a certain SJP, no? What's more, the fashion industry has strong attachments to the founder, who died in 2008 at the age of 71, so the transition could cause quite a kerfuffle...

Either way, we're going to have to get used to it because the ditching of 'Yves' is to be introduced in the next few months. The new name will be in place by the time Slimane’s first collection, for Spring Summer 2013, arrives in store. And what will the re-branding mean for that iconic YSL logo? According to WWD, it will still appear on the brand's array of products from shoes and bags to lipsticks and that . Phewf for that.

After succeeding Stefano Pilati at the helm of the brand in March, Slimane was given 'total creative responsibility for the brand image and all its collections'. According to reports, he is aiming to take Yves Saint Laurent into a new era with a more youthful and modern aesthetic. We'll find out exactly what the means when the designer presents his Spring Summer 2013 collection during Paris Fashion Week in September. Eyes peeled, folks.