The End of an Icon- YSL to Become Saint Laurent Paris
It was recently announced by newly appointed creative director of fashion house Yves Saint Laurent Hedi Slimane that he plans to change the company’s name from Yves Saint Laurent to Saint Laurent Paris. This major change to an iconic brand name has critics questioning Slimane’s motive. Although many are quick to speculate fashion/political reasons for this change to the name, it may be as simple as Mr. Slimane is zeroing in on and targeting his consumer audience. Although Saint Laurent Paris remains a high end couture brand name of apparel recently their products have been promoted by more lower level celebrities for example; reality television star Lauren Conrad. Their clothing is also routinely featured in publications such as US Weekly which targets a younger, lower income demographic of women than a magazine such as Vogue, which features competitor brands such as Chanel or Celine. The addition the location of the brand name’s flagship store would offer a sense of brand identity to 
consumers less familiar with haute couture clothing lines. This change in addition to the ultra causal Spring/Summer collection debuted by Slimane at Paris Fashion Week suggests that he is making this drastic change for more marketing reasons than brand aesthetics. Read more here.