HEDI SLIMANE

Hedi Slimane was born in Paris to an Italian mother and a Tunisian father. He mastered the art of photography as a teenager, and began sewing clothes at the age of sixteen.
After completing his studies in the art history department at the Louvre School in Paris, the designer began working with fashion consultant Jean-Jacques Piccard. In 1992, they organized and held a large-scale exhibition together in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Louis Vuitton monogram. Three years later, the designer began collaborating with the Yves Saint Laurent fashion house, developing men's clothing. Already in 1997, he became art director, fully responsible for the design of the men's line.

In 2000, Slimane left Yves Saint Laurent and rejected an offer to collaborate with the Jil Sander house. He immediately accepted another offer - to take the position of chief designer of the Christian Dior men's line. Shortly after this appointment, designer Karl Lagerfeld dropped several dozen kilograms to wear Dior Homme skinny jeans.

In 2001, Slimane presented the first Dior Homme fragrance, Higher. The advertising campaign for the perfume was shot by the iconic American photographer Richard Avedon. In 2002, Slimane became the first menswear designer to be awarded the Council of Fashion Designers of America award for International Designer of the Year. In 2006, after his contract with Christian Dior expired, he left the fashion house. Not wanting to lose control of his name, Hedi Slimane also refused the company's offer to finance the production of his own collections.