SNEAK PREVIEWS: Yet Another Look At The Upcoming Saint Laurent Re-Branding

Okay, we'll admit that we are sort of obsessed with the upcoming relaunching and rebranding of Yves Saint Laurent's boutiques and prêt-à-porter lines under Hedi Slimane's creative direction. Here is the only official-ish picture we have seen so far of the newly restored/revamped Saint Laurent logo that will appear on the apparel and brand the stores. We are pretty sure that it's from August's Vogue Paris which features an extended interview with Slimane including his own photographs. We discovered the image on Nick Wooster's Tumblr. Since last week, the upcoming Saint Laurent boutique in SoHo has also cleaned up its plywood revealing the new logo again (pictured in a slideshow below). Now you can get a look for yourself should you be on Mercer Street between Prince and Houston Streets.

Anyway, make of it what you will. We think it's a pretty cool combination of the original Helvetica logo and the sleek, sans-serif sensibility that is Slimane's signature mixed with a bit of Copperplate "Paris". We are totally on board with it, but plenty of other bloggers and their legions of commenters seem to be scandalized about such disrespectful changes to the house's apparently sacrosanct trademarks.
Ugh, whatever. The famous monogram is still in place on the store, and the original logo will remain on fragrances and other branded merchandise. You'll still be able to call it YSL in case you are worried about it (not SL or SLP, please) but, better yet, just get used to calling it Saint Laurent. For what it's worth, former Yves Saint Laurent chief and co-founder Pierre Bergé is a huge Slimane fan and is reportedly thrilled with what is in store for the brand —and he has consistently been one of the harshest critics of the great couturier's successors. There's no need to be shocked, SHOCKED about it all. The official brand unveiling will come at the Spring 2013 Collections in Paris this October, which is when the press and public will finally get a look at the Slimane-designed women's Resort and men's Spring collections that have already been shown to buyers. Of course should anything leak out before then, we will be all over it, because, as we mentioned earlier, we're obsessed.

Previously:
Sneak Previews: Here's A Blink-And-You'll-Miss-It Glimpse Of The New Saint Laurent Logo
Winds of Change: Another Look At The Saint Laurent Retro-Rebranding

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