Laura Bailey Turns Director

Laura Bailey has joined London-based eyewear label Zanzan Eyewear as director and creative partner, we can reveal this morning. The model and Voguecontributing editor will join the current creative team, Megan Trimble and Gareth Townshend - who founded the label in 2012 - to consult, collaborate, and assist with the design of the frames - something she is more than well-placed to do.

"I've long been obsessed with shades - I feel vulnerable without them and they are my fastest way to transform both mood and look," Bailey revealed. "They have played such a big part in my own style evolution (from NYC white and pastel flea-market finds and quirky, girly Chloé, to Miu Miu to classic black Chanel), and link so many of my movie or music fantasies."

The union isn't purely a business one. Bailey, Trimble and Townshend have formed a friendship over the last few years based on a mutual appreciation of art, design and photography which "evolved naturally until it became a serious business and creative opportunity", Bailey (who has experience in designing forLK Bennet and Radley as well as guest editing collections for Topshop and setting up Loquet London alongside Sheherazade Goldsmith) explained. Zanzan's refreshingly alternative reference points can be seen on its Instagram account.

The quirky frames make for a playful take on classic spectacle silhouettes while the colour-pop palette will brighten up every day. And who better to model the first fruits of the collaboration than Bailey (a self-confessed enthusiast) herself?

"Some girls hoard shoes or bags, I have drawers full of shades," she told us. "Some have ended up in my kids' fancy-dress chest but I still confess to around fifty pairs." Let the sun shine.

Slimane And Saint Laurent: What Happened?

"Privacy seems to be the only true luxury left today." So said Hedi Slimane last August, in a rare interview he gave to Yahoo! Style. As fashion observers search for clues as to why the reclusive designer has parted wayswith Saint Laurent after four years at the helm, a comment that he gave in relation to his reinstatement of the Yves Saint Laurent couture business suddenly seems pertinent.

Rumours had been swirling for a while. In February, when the famously press-shy Slimane staged a fashion-show-cum-rock-festival in LA for celebrities as diverse as Lady Gaga, Gary Oldman and Sylvester Stallone, he took an atypical post-show bow in a red velvet smoking jacket. In March, when he showed anautumn/winter 2016 Saint Laurent collection that was read as an uncompromising homage to Eighties-era Yves, whispers of an impending departure gathered apace. Leave on an unadulterated, super-Parisian, elegiacally YSL high, went the logic - and leave them wanting more.

Still, on paper, Slimane's departure looks illogical. As François-Henri Pinault, chairman and chief executive officer of Kering, acknowledged: "What Yves Saint Laurent has achieved over the past four years represents a unique chapter in the history of the house." It also represents a unique chapter in its general leger: last year sales revenue stood at €974 million (about $1.08 billion), up from €707 million in 2014. Having staked his claim on the accessible - biker jackets, mini dresses, tuxedos and black ankle boots - Slimane turned Saint Laurent into one of the most profitable houses in the Kering stable. For the final quarter of 2015, like-for-like sales were up by 27.4% - a remarkable posting in a slowing luxury market.

Still, Slimane has always courted controversy. He arrived at Yves Saint Laurent in 2012 and his "Reform Project", as he termed it, was swift and severe. Changes were deemed "systemic", and "were needed to comfort the progression and accuracy of the House of Yves Saint Laurent". First, he dropped the "Yves" from the ready-to-wear label, which met with an outraged press reaction that he later termed "irrational" but "ironically a blessing in disguise that unexpectedly gave all the publicity that was needed for my project". Second, he established a design studio of 15 people in LA, 9,000km away from the Paris headquarters. 

Next, he changed the advertising campaigns, promoting glam-rock imagery which he photographed himself in black and white. He changed the stores, installing marble and mirrored surfaces to create stark, Modernist interiors at great expense. He changed the typeface. And he changed the clothes, riffing on cult classics that lacked the conceptual pretensions of high fashion. Critics deemed his leather jackets, army parkas, mini skirts and slip dresses populist - but up close, the construction of the garments was utterly immaculate, and the fabrics felt heartily authentic, down to the specific "grain de poudre" finish of a Thirties-inflected tuxedo jacket.

The final "preservation" element in the magic Slimane formula was the reintroduction of the couture line, housed in 24 Rue de l'Université on Paris's Left Bank. It took three years to restore the building itself, a hotel particulier built in the reign of Louis XIV that had fallen into disrepair. Slimane set about selecting artisans to restore floors, décor, a central staircase and the former French geometric garden. He also collected modernist Art Deco and Louis XVI furniture with which to fill the house. The ateliers had been producing handmade pieces for movie stars and musicians under the label "Yves Saint Laurent", although did not reappear on the official couture schedule.

It was a discreet operation, borne of a man who once described himself thus: "remote and in a quiet environment is closer to my nature". After Kering and Slimane could not come to an agreement on a new contract on Thursday, one presumes Slimane will return to a relaxed life in LA, preparing for his next challenge. For as he also revealed last year: "What motivates me is discovery. Searching for new music, unspoiled talents, and the excitement of youth. There is nothing to be jaded about; there is constantly change and evolution around. You need to be curious and open to new things, and never think it was better before, since nothing is ever the same." 

Cara Discusses Struggle With Depression

Cara Delevingne discussed her struggle with depression during her modelling career in a series of tweets posted last night.

She took to Twitter after many expressed surprise at this week's announcement that she is the face of Saint Laurent's latest campaign, given the broad media speculation that she had stepped back from modelling last year to focus on acting. Clarifying the rumours once and for all, Delevingne wrote: "Can we just set the record straight… I never said I was quitting modelling."

The 23-year-old continued, "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." Acknowledging the changes that she has made, her tweets concluded: "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." 

It isn't the first time that Delevingne has spoken candidly about her battle with the mental illness. During an interview with actor Rupert Everett at the Women in the World Summit last October, she read a poem that she had written about her experience, explaining: "I wrote this when I wasn't very happy, a year ago, but if you know depression it comes back. It's a reoccurring thing." Hoping to raise awareness of mental health issues and to encourage those suffering to seek help themselves, she disclosed the severity of her struggle. "I got to the point where I went a bit mad. I was completely suicidal, I didn't want to live anymore," Delevingne said, before revealing that she had found solace through confiding in others - including fellow model Kate Moss - seeking professional support and taking up yoga and writing.

Moss Leaves Modelling Agency

Kate Moss has left Storm Models, the agency to which she has been signed since she was first discovered by its founder Sarah Doukas in JFK airport aged 14, the company confirmed to us this morning.

"After a successful 28 year relationship, Kate is moving her business in house, and we will continue to maintain an active involvement in our on-going deals for her," read a statement from the agency, which is responsible for the fashion careers of hundreds of major fashion models including Cindy Crawford, Jourdan Dunn, Liu Wen, Behati Prinsloo and, until recently, Cara Delevingne. The agency does, however, still have one Moss on its books in the form of Kate's little sister, Lottie.

Moss - who has established herself as a shrewd businesswoman in recent years with many collaborations and additional ventures to her modelling - will, moving forward, manage the majority of her modelling commitments herself, collaborating with the agency on an ad-hoc basis. The move, however, is said to be amicable.

Hedi Slimane To Exit Saint Laurent

Hedi Slimane is departing Saint Laurent as creative director, its owner Kering confirmed this morning. The announcement comes as the designer's contract with the fashion house expired this week and confirms rumours that have been circling the fashion industry since late last year.

"What Yves Saint Laurent has achieved over the past four years represents a unique chapter in the history of the house," François-Henri Pinault, chairman and chief executive officer of Kering, said in a statement this morning. "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."

When contacted for comment earlier this year, a spokesperson for the brandasserted that the rumours where unfounded, telling us: "Following the recent departures there has been many rumours and this is another false speculation," referring to the other high-profile exits of Raf Simons from Dior and Alber Elbaz from Lanvin.

Francesca Bellettini, president and CEO of Yves Saint Laurent, stated today: "I would like to thank Hedi Slimane very much for his vision in reforming such an iconic House as Yves Saint Laurent. The direction that has been taken over the last four years represents an incredible foundation for the Brand to build on for its continuous success."

As to where Slimane will go next, nothing has been disclosed, but his successor is widely rumoured to be Anthony Vaccarello, who is currently creative director of Versace's sister line Versus Versace and his eponymous label. Women's Wear Daily reports that his naming could come as soon as May 1 so that he is in situ to design the brand's spring/summer 2017 collection that will show in Paris in October.

Kering said this morning said that "a new creative organisation for the house will be communicated in due course."

Pierre Bergé Slams Designer "Islamic Fashion"

While a growing number of fashion brands are creating fashion collections aimed at Muslim women, Pierre Bergé has taken issue with designers creating Islamic clothing.

"I am scandalised. Creators should have nothing to do with Islamic fashion," the 85-year-old told French radio station Europe 1 yesterday, reports The Guardian. "Designers are there to make women more beautiful, to give them their freedom, not to collaborate with this dictatorship which imposes this abominable thing by which we hide women and make them live a hidden life. These creators who are taking part in the enslavement of women should ask themselves some questions."

Bergé went on to say that the only reason that labels - which include Marks & Spencer, Uniqlo and Dolce & Gabbana - create such collections is "to make dough and nothing else", and he would tell them to: "Give up the dough. Have convictions. Defend your convictions." The French businessman - who founded Yves Saint Laurent alongside the eponymous designer, who was also his life partner - stressed that his comments are not Islamaphobic. "I live in Morocco most of the time, I am really not Islamophobic," he said.

His comments come as Laurence Rossignol, France's women's rights minister, criticised Marks & Spencer's full-body swimsuit, suggesting that the British retailer is "bowing to religious conservatives," according to The Daily Telegraph.

"What's at stake is social control over women's bodies," she told RMC radio. "When brands invest in this Islamic garment market, they are shirking their responsibilities and are promoting women's bodies being locked up. It is irresponsible on the part of these brands. All those who participate in how society is represented have a responsibility."

Marks & Spencer responded to the comments, saying that it "provides a wide range of quality swimwear", and that it has sold the full-body swimsuit "for a number of years and it is popular with our customers internationally".

Roberto Cavalli Upbeat About Growth

While many prefer to play down the fanfare of figures when they're not particularly positive,Roberto Cavalli's CEO, Renato Semerari, has been frank about the fashion house's current position, revealing that they are not expecting "beautiful numbers" this year.

"We don't expect 2016 to be brilliant, it will be similar to 2015," Semerari told WWD. "The first half will be difficult, but we will see signs of improvement in the second half. We are investing in the medium-term."

Unfazed by the calculus, he is focusing on the brand's long-term business strategy, which began last year with a "style and generational change" when it appointed former Emilio Pucci creative director Peter Dundas to replace the brand's eponymous founder - something he is equally plain-speaking about.

"There was the desire to underscore the change," he said of the appointment, which happened around the same time as his own arrival at the house. "It was an important message, aiming for a younger customer and more ready-to-wear for the day, but the response was varied. February's show was much better. We'll see what happens with the facts, but we believe that the message of a young woman, the rebalance of daywear and eveningwear has remained and we've strengthened the luxury component. We've received a positive response from press and clients alike."

He also outlined the ways the company intends to adapt to current consumer habits and move forward under new owner Clessidra SGR, which bought the fashion house (after lengthy negotiations) last year. It has already developed its wholesale channel in the US and relaunched its website and e-commerce with an omni-channel approach; intends to increase its presence in Asian markets - China, Japan, and Korea specifically - where it feels its competitors dominate; invest in "underdeveloped" categories such as menswear and accessories; and further explore the hospitality division of its Just Cavalli line.