Hedi Slimane is to become the creative director of Yves Saint Laurent.

The designer will assume total responsibility for the French brand's image and all of its collections following the departure of Stefano Pilati from his leadership of the company.

Paul Deneve, chief executive officers of Yves Saint Laurent, said Heidi - who used to head up Dior Homme - was the perfect person for the job: "Hedi Slimane's exceptional talent and understanding of the spirit of Yves Saint Laurent heralds a promising new chapter in the story of the maison."

"As one of the most important French fashion houses, Yves Saint Laurent today possesses formidable potential, which I am confident will be successfully harnessed and revealed through the vision of Hedi Slimane," added Francois Henri Pinault, Chief Executive Officer of parent company PPR.

Alongside his position, Heidi will be allowed to continue working on his passion for photography - he recently released a retrospective book of photographic work called Anthology of a Decade.