Hedi Slimane

Raf Simons and Hedi Slimane have widely been regarded as rivals thanks to the timing of their appointments at Dior and Yves Saint Laurent, respectively, but how will these newcomers challenge other, more established designers in Paris?

"I think it's something that a lot of people are feeling and thinking about, and I love competition because it moves me forward," said Alber Elbaz during a preview of Lanvin's Spring 2013 show. "You know, I'm not a jealous person. I'm only jealous of people who can eat and don't gain weight. It motivates all of us to work harder and find solutions."

Ron Frasch, chief merchandising officer of Saks Fifth Avenue, put a finer point on how Simons and Slimane will force other designers to push their own boundaries.

"Everyone's going to be looking not to be outshone," he said. "You're talking about supercompetitive designers. Believe me, they're going to want to up their game."

Related: Alber Elbaz Is Glad Designers Don't Hate Each Other Anymore

Those stories and more in our daily news roundup.

• "You may think I am high maintenance, but I assure you, the attention is worth it," Choupette Lagerfeld writes in the infamous diary her two maids keep detailing her every move. "Even my fur balls are glossy." [Grazia]
  

• Lady Gaga has sided with Oscar de la Renta in his tiff with fashion critic Cathy Horyn. "Bravo Oscar," the singer tweeted. "Only you would be so chic as to purchase an entire page in WWD, making statements like a good fashion citizen." [Styleite]
  

• Mugler creative director Christophe de Lataillade has revealed the secrets behind campaigns for the house's iconic fragrance Angel — including the set that nearly burned a model's flesh. [The Cut]
  

• Calvin Klein's ex-boyfriend Nick Gruber has accused the fashion icon of paying private eyes to "stalk" him and his new boyfriend, animator John Luciano. "Calvin can hire goons to follow John and me all he wants — we have nothing to hide. I've moved on. I've never been happier." [Page Six]
  

• Hedi Slimane will unveil his new Saint Laurent Paris store concept when he opens a store in Shanghai next week. The design, involving a lot of dark stone and mirrored surfaces, references the French art deco and Union des Artistes Modernes movements. [WWD]
  

• Versace has opened another store, too — online. Customers in Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France can now buy the house's wares through a new ecommerce site. [Versace]
  

• Net-a-Porter founder Natalie Massenet has been appointed chairwoman of the British Fashion Council, succeeding its leader of five years, Harold Tillman. [The Independent]
  
  Photo via Grazia

Judging by this just-released Saint Laurent ad — the first to be photographed by Hedi Slimane in his new role as creative director — we may be in for one wild rock 'n' roll ride on Oct. 1, when he debuts his first runway collection for the brand. The ad, which is just the first of 15 campaign images, appears in this month's issue of Vogue Hommes Japan and features a black and white image of tattooed rocker Christopher Owens reclining on a velvet pillow. His shirtless torso, bare arms, and long mane of hair are facing the camera, and on the opposite page, in black typeface on a solid white background, is the new Saint Laurent Paris logo.

Those stories and more in today's news roundup.

• Chloe Sevigny covers the September issue of XOXO magazine in a photograph taken by Casey Spooner. [Design Scene]
  

• A quick jaunt to British Vogue's new website reveals an updated design with a strong emphasis on large photos and text. "The redesigned site offers the user an experience which is closer to that of the print magazine, whilst continuing to capitalise on the timeliness, newsworthiness and excitement of the web," said the magazine's editor in chief Alexandra Shulman. [Vogue UK]
  

• Yves Saint Laurent creative director Hedi Slimane is living the good life in Los Angeles. The designer occupies a "'60s Modern house in Beverly Hills and tools around town in a vintage 1980s black Rolls-Royce." [Vanity Fair]
  

• A $293 paper bag featured in Jil Sander's Fall 2012 men's collection not only made its way into stores, but it's also now completely sold out. [LN-CC]
  

• Anna Wintour reportedly approached Ann Romney for a profile in Vogue earlier this year, but the potential first lady declined the offer. [The New Republic]
  

• Reformation will open a sustainably designed flagship store in New York City's SoHo neighborhood on Sept. 5 to join its other shop on the Lower East Side. [Fashionologie Inbox]
  

• Style.com has finally asked the question the industry has been dying to get answered: "Is lesbian chic here to stay?" [The Cut]

Some of the industry's biggest names commented on Hedi Slimane changing the name of Yves Saint Laurent to Saint Laurent Paris, but Slimane himself had remained silent until recently. The designer finally explained his reasons for the shift in an interview with Vanity Fair.

"It is interesting to see how much reaction this retro branding has created," Slimane said. "Clearly, this period of the history of the house was not well-known, which I trust was a surprise for Pierre Bergé. I went back to 1966 — just before the events of 1968 [when 11 million workers revolted against the conservative politics of then-President Charles de Gaulle — the biggest general strike in history], but the awakening of youth was in the air, and Yves Saint Laurent wanted to dissociate himself from the clientele of haute couture and embrace this new generation."

Since Slimane announced the name change in June, Arizona Muse, Karl Lagerfeld, and Bergé himself have publicly voiced their support for the change. When the house revealed an image of the new branding on Facebook last month, its followers were not as enthusiastic. One called the new name and logo "an act of disrespect" against the house's founder.

Saint Laurent, who would have turned 76 last week, was considered a pioneer in ready-to-wear when he founded Saint Laurent Rive Gauche in 1966, but he continued to design couture until he retired from fashion in 2002.

If rumors are to be believed, John Galliano may be joining Hedi Slimane as a resident of Los Angeles in the near future.

According to a story in The Hollywood Reporter, a kilt-wearing Galliano was seen lunching with Katherine Ross — a former public relations executive for LVMH who now works as a consultant for Balenciaga — in the City of Angels late last month. The next day, he was overheard telling friends that he and his partner Alexis Roche — who worked as a style consultant at Dior during Galliano's tenure — are looking for apartments in Los Angeles, intimating that Roche wants to start a career as a celebrity stylist.

Roche's Twitter account was silent for most of July and as of yet has not offered any updates relating to the rumored move. In March, LA-based jewelry designer Markus Molinari tweeted at Roche, saying that it was "GREAT seeing you and John and that little dog of yours at lunch!" In April, Galliano was spotted breaking bread with Grace Coddington in New York, and just last month he was seen meeting with Anna Wintour in Paris during Couture week.

In June, Slimane announced that he would design Saint Laurent Paris from the city, where he's lived for several years.

Arizona Muse has added her voice to the chorus of people who support changing the name of Yves Saint Laurent to Saint Laurent Paris.

"People who aren't in the fashion world might not know that a new designer has joined the brand, so this is a clear way of signifying that there's been a big change," Muse said in an interview. "It's the sort of thing everyone will notice, not just fashion people."

Karl Lagerfeld has also thrown his support behind the change, saying, "Paris needs some new things, some stimulation . . . I think it's interesting and it's important. Something fresh was needed."

And while other industry giants like Pierre Bergé and Betty Catroux have also backed the shift, reaction among the public has been mixed. When Saint Laurent Paris unveiled the new logo on its Facebook page this week, one fan of the brand decried it as "an act of disrespect."

Hedi Slimane, who was appointed the brand's creative director in March, announced the change in June, emphasizing that the iconic YSL logo will be preserved for use on some products. The new name should be fully integrated into the company's brand messaging by September, when Slimane stages his first show for Saint Laurent Paris.

Photo: Arizona Muse photographed by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin for Yves Saint Laurent's Spring 2011 campaign.

The brand once known as Yves Saint Laurent revealed its new Saint Laurent Paris logo online over the weekend. Said logo — affixed to a black box resting on a marble surface in the photo above — is presented in capital letters. The image was posted to the brand's official Facebook page on Saturday, and while some commenters were supportive of the change, many others decried it as a bad move. One fan called it "an act of disrespect."

Hedi Slimane, who took over as creative director of the house in March, announced last month that he would change the name of the ready-to-wear collection to Saint Laurent Paris. The shift was billed as an attempt to "return to the fundamentals of YSL." When Saint Laurent moved into ready-to-wear in 1966, he called the operation Saint Laurent Rive Gauche.

The new branding will not replace the iconic YSL logo, which will still be applied to some of the house's products.