When Hedi Slimane took over from Stefano Pilati at the head of creation in Saint Laurent Paris, we all started dreaming about all the amazing photos and videos he would do. And here we go with the first video directed by him called Saint Laurent Dance. It will support the launch of the Ballerine Dance new line. Beginning of this year, Saint Laurent opened a new flagship store at Avenue Montagne in Paris. For the opening, Hedi Slimane revealed a new collection called “The Permanent Collection”. It summarizes some iconic classics that every women should have in her wardrobe. And now, he is revealing a new addition to this collection, the Ballerine Dance. It revamps the traditional ballerina shoes in a more modern and sophisticated way. And to support this launch, 2 videos are released this month. We can see Hedi Slimane signature very well. Great video but there is nothing really unexpected. Mr Slimane is definitely probably one of the most talented photographers of his generation but his added-value as video director it is not always easy to understand. In this campaign, part one is definitely much more interesting than part 2.
Saint Laurent Dance – Part 1
In this first video, we see fashion model Gracie van Gastel in the role of a young girl playing with a houla-oup. She is wearing the new collection of Saint Laurent Ballerines and turns around playing either in the roof top of a building or inside a dance room.
Between the purity and the naiveness of her look, towards the sensuality of her eyes and hair, there is a very aesthetic construction of each scene. The hula-hoop has definitely a certain role that take us from the nostalgic grey spirit of the scenes towards a more positive and warm emotion. This nostalgic feeling from a timeless souvenir definitely connects us to the work of Hedi Slimane. The game that the young woman install with this childhood object is full of life and the camera is very sharp. The sound track features Clementine Creevy voice from Cherry Glazerr. The song is called Trick or Treat Dancefloor.
Of course we can wonder what makes this video a Saint Laurent video? This question is more complicated. There is a certain subversive approach missing here that could give 2 different lecture grids or interpretations. Where is the Saint Laurent DNA? Nevertheless I really liked the video, the camera took the essentiality of the scenery. I would probably end up the film with a bridge to part 2, but this is not very objective.
Saint Laurent Dance – Part 2
In this second video, we see fashion model Lida Fox in the role of a ballet dancer having a dance practice. At the beginning I was wondering if she was a real dancer from a ballet crew. Then after realizing that she is Lida Fox, we can see the interest of choosing her for this scene.
In the Saint Laurent video, we see a dancer having a dance practice. We can see the eye of Hedi Slimane in many scenes of this story. In the following snapshots taken from the film, there are really amazing images. There is also one very interesting facet of this video part 2. It is the focus on the anatomy of the dancer. Lida Fox has a very fit body and it is quite gracious to watch her evolving on dance positions.
We can still see the Saint Laurent ballerina shoes, although it was easier on the part 1 video. What was less successful in this part 2 video was the fact that there was nothing really original or unexpected here. Like the equivalent of the hula-hoop in part 1. All the part of the video in which we see the dancer spinning as a ballet dancer was pretty consensual and expected. It is a pity that the hula-hoop was not kept as a interactive object in part 2 too. Nevertheless, this video has more a Saint Laurent style than the first one but again, nothing surprising. When we see all the interesting and original work that brands like Prada are doing in terms of content support for the collections, of course the level is very high. Also brands like H&M for example also started revealing strong concepts for their collections. And probably we expect from Mr Slimane something always bold and outstanding.
Info sourced at Saint Laurent official communication, vogue.com, youtube, Dazed, Luxuo, Glamour. All content is copyrighted with no reproduction rights available.
