Photo: Courtesy of Saint Laurent.Kering, the luxury- and lifestyle-brand conglomerate formerly known as PPR, released numbers to recap January through June, and Saint Laurent Paris is having a banner half-year. “Sales…jumped 26.9% in the second quarter, with all regions posting high-double-digit growth,” according to Women’s Wear Daily. The fashion house’s Monogram shoulder bags and Sac de Jour totes were in-demand; but, clothing proved popular, too. “Retail sales of ready-to-wear soared 42% in the first half, boosted by strong growth in the men’s line,” the trade adds, noting that SLP’s figures compensate for slumps at Gucci and Puma.
“The balance and consistency of [Yves Saint Laurent’s] brand positioning…explain, along with the appointment of Hedi Slimane as creative director, the tremendous recent success of the brand,” Deutsche Bank analysts told The Wall Street Journal — a stance that echoes that of Sky Ferreira in a 2013 New York Times article. “Hedi has a very specific thing he does and that’s why they brought him in,” she said. “When people talk about him changing Saint Laurent, I don’t really see the problem. Because you can actually wear it?” Shoppers, Deutsche Bank analysts, Sky Ferreira…we’re all on the same page, here.