At Saint Laurent, Hedi Slimane went skinny and rock-n-roll with baby-doll dresses and leather miniskirts.

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Why would newly instated creative director Hedi Slimane rename the label before his first collection even hit the runway?

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"On the one hand, he adores clothes and has championed some of the great designers like Hedi Slimane, Thierry Mugler and Alexander McQueen, " says Mr. Pegg.

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The big luxury houses will dominate Paris's fashion week, with 99 shows, where attention will turn to Christian Dior's Raf Simons and Saint Laurent's Hedi Slimane.

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His style of protection, however, is a bit more subtle than current Saint Laurent CEO Paul Deneve, who penned a heated screed damning Women's Wear Daily's negative review of Hedi Slimane's debut for the house.

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Some modern-day designers are doing the same thing, building brand identities around their names and personalities (or personas), which stand for much more than slim-cut suits or universally flattering wrap dresses (no offense to Hedi Slimane or Diane von Furstenberg).

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For a while now, skinny and narrow has been de rigueur (thanks to Hedi Slimane, formerly of Christian Dior fame), but that has left men with, ahem, wider thighs, bigger bottoms and thicker waists looking, well, uncomfortable at best and rather silly at worst.

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