Jerkin with Hedi and the Boys in L.A.

PHOTO BY HEDI SLIMANE

The Skinny jeans movement, who knew? Hedi Slimane, that’s who, the man who gave men a reason to crash diet and put everyone in long, low, lean skinny jeans at Dior Homme which he took to the top from 2000 to 2007.  In a Q&A yesterday for style.com, Hedi Slimane gave his first interview in a long time and he mentioned how hard it is for a talent in a corporate world to put a new silhouette forward and define a new man: “I heard so much about my proportions, and how absurd and unsuccessful, for instance my skinny jeans and silhouette would be. I also heard about my lack of definition in masculinity, as I was aiming to try another definition.”  And then he gave his equation of style: “fashion+music+youth+sex.”  I second that.  
 
And Slimane is on the case—the search for beauty, excitement and life—notably in his recent photo reportage on Jerkin, Hip Hop’s new dance style born on the streets of L.A. where he’s been spending time lately (he has a house there). Hedi’s soulfully elegant look at Jerkin appears in the current issue of Vogue Hommes Japan and you can also see it on his personal site. He calls it a  “joyful rap collateral movement,” but I think Legacy from the New Boyz, whose hit “You’re a Jerk,” got the skinny party started last summer, sums it up best (or worst): “People Used To Go To Parties & Get Shot Up & Now They Go To Parties To Jerk.”