Goodbye, Yves Saint Laurent! Behind YSL?s Dramatic Name Change To 'Saint Laurent Paris'

This fall, fashion house Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) will change its name to Saint Laurent Paris, according to Women's Wear Daily. The French brand's creative director, Hedi Slimane, confirmed to WWD that YSL will re-brand itself with the dramatic change. Saint Laurent will make its debut when the Spring 2012 collection hits stores.

The iconic YSL logo will not be thrown to the wayside, however. The brand will keep the emblem on its shoe soles, makeup cases and in advertising campaigns, reported Lucky magazine. The logo, designed by Ukrainian-French artist A.M. Cassandre in 1963, has been synonymous with the brand since it was first launched by designer Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent.

Fashionista was the first to report on the YSL name change, sharing the first whisperings of rumors regarding the brand dropping the Yves.

Calling the brand Saint Laurent won't be too much of a stretch, as people already call it that, but will we really call it SL (for SLimane?) for short? asked Fashionista's Dhani Mau. What about all the stores and beauty products and that iconic logo? Won't changing everything be incredibly expensive and confusing? Would the value of vintage or pre-Slimane YSL then go up?

We also wonder if YSL co-founder Pierre Bergé, who has worked tirelessly to keep Yves Saint Laurent's memory alive with expansive archives and a foundation, would approve of such a huge change, she added. If true, this is a surprising statement for Slimane to make, given his past at YSL (he designed menswear from 1998-2000) and the fact that Bergé, who has been quite critical of previous creative directors, seemed pleased to have him on board and called him 'a member of the YSL family.'

Slimane took over as YSL's creative director in March 2012, replacing Stefano Pilati, who held the title for almost eight years. 

Lucky magazine also commented on the dropped Yves and how losing it might cloud the persona of Yves Saint Laurent that still thrives in the label's products.

The fashion community has mixed feelings about this shocking news, mainly because the label's eponymous designer died just four years ago, wrote Lucky's Alison Syrett. As the man responsible for trailblazing clothes still referenced and recreated today (the le smoking jacket, the Mondrian dress...sound familiar?), many feel his legacy should remain intact.

Saint Laurent died in 2008 of brain cancer but his legacy lives on. Since starting at the House of Dior in 1953, he has been renowned as one of the most celebrated designers of all time and his YSL brand one of the most coveted.

Caroline Reynolds Milbank described YSL, in 1985, as such: The most consistently celebrated and influential designer of the past twenty-five years, Yves Saint Laurent can be credited with both spurring the couture's rise from its sixties ashes and with finally rendering ready-to-wear reputable.