Hasta La Ideas

It’s a good thing that fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent didn’t live to see his namesake brand, part of PPR’s Gucci Group since 1999, make its sloppy foray into the world of “social media.” The luxury brand recently launched accounts on Twitter and Facebook that are sadly lacking in the masterful luxury positioning and impeccable design that have made YSL one of PPR’s most stunning success stories. (Somewhere in the south of France, Bernard Arnault is grinning and signing bonus checks to the team behind the well-textured twittering of Louis Vuitton.) It’s almost enough to make us abandon our Touche Eclat and jettison the painterly “Raspail Gesso” tote that made the cover of Artforum.

Since taking the creative helm of YSL in 2004, designer Stefano Pilati has burnished the brand with critically acclaimed collections of innovative, architectural silhouettes spiked (often literally) with ultra-covetable accessories and subtle references to the house’s heritage. Last year, YSL revenues climbed 19 percent (22 percent, on a comparable exchange rate basis) to €262.8 million (approximately $370 million), while revenues for the floundering Gucci brand inched up by less than two percent, albeit to a whopping €2.2 billion ($3.1 billion). Surely PPR can afford to invest in a digital media strategy more in line with YSL’s sublime print marketing, or at least free of awkward, misspelled, and perpetually exclamatory (!) Twitter messages (the one above has since been deleted). The last message, posted Friday, advises followers that “YSL is going to the beach!” Phew. Let’s hope for a fresh start come fall.

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