Hedi Slimane Leaves Saint Laurent After Four Years

Rumors started going around recently that designer Hedi Slimane would soon be stepping down from Saint Laurent, and the high-fashion brand has officially confirmed the news.

Slimane acted as Saint Laurent's creative and image director up until Thursday, March 31, when his initial contract expired. Kering, which is the parent company of the brand, explained that his departure comes after a "four-year mission, which has led to the complete repositioning of the brand."

"What Yves Saint Laurent has achieved over the past four years represents a unique chapter in the history of the House," said François-Henri Pinault, chairman and CEO of Kering. "I am very grateful to Hedi Slimane, and the whole Yves Saint Laurent team, for having set the path that the House has successfully embraced, and which will grant longevity to this legendary Brand."

A press release explained that a "new creative organization for the House will be communicated in due course."

While Slimane has not yet released a statement on his departure, he did post a black and white photo of himself on Instagram today with a broken heart emoji as the caption.

The designer joined the label, replacing Stefano Pilati, in March 2012 after spending seven years at Dior Homme. Since then, he notoriously dropped the "Yves" from the brand's name and redesigned the YSL logo.

This news comes shortly after the fashion house named model Cara Delevingne the new face of the La Collection de Paris campaign, which was a surprise since months prior she apparently "quit" modeling - although she has since denied those claims.

"Can we just set the record straight," the model tweeted Thursday. "I never said I was quitting modeling. I do not blame the fashion industry for anything. I suffer from depression and was a model during a particularly rough patch of self hatred. I am so lucky for the work I get to do but I used to work to try and escape and just ended up completely exhausting myself. I am focusing on filming and trying to learn how to not pick apart my every flaw. I am really good at that. Okay...Rant over. Just wanted to clarify and word vomit a little."

Delevingne first explained her hiatus from modeling in an interview last August, saying she wasn't taking on any more fashion work at the time because she suffered from psoriasis. "People would put on gloves and not want to touch me because they thought it was, like, leprosy or something," she said at the time. "It is a mental thing as well because if you hate yourself and your body and the way you look, it just gets worse and worse."

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Cara Delevingne, Fashion