At this season's must-see exhibition, Robert Mapplethorpe curated by Hedi Slimane, the Dior Homme designer and budding photographer highlights the rock and roll soul in Mapplethorpe massive oeuvre.

Since it's inception, the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation's goal has been to maintain the flame of the 20th century photography icon through unconventional artistic interventions. While many vividly recall Mapplethorpe's controversial imagery, such as his leather-clad self-portraits, provocative nudes and stylized flowers, there are countless images that few have seen. An entire generation of Mapplethorpe addicts has slipped out of view since the photographer's death in 1989, and the new vanguard is studying his legacy from a different perspective.
Dior Homme designer Hedi Slimane, who is also a photographer, was barely out of his teens when Mapplethorpe died at the age of 43. Had they been contemporaries, their shared innate style, rapacious eye for detail and precocious talent would have been potent fodder for creative camaraderie. As part of the foundation's ongoing quest to observe Mapplethorpe's work through new and unexpected angles, Slimane has been chosen to guest curate a Mapplethorpe exhibition at the Thaddeus Ropac Gallery in Paris. Former invitees have been Cindy Sherman, who curated an exhibition in New York, and David Hockney in London.
While searching through Mapplethorpe's 800-image catalog rasionné, Slimane discovered a side to the photographer's oeuvre where classical, academic aestheticism met a passion for rock and roll. The designer – who has just released his third photographic tome documenting rock and roll's 21st century cultural ascent and its emergent stars — had found the link to his own aesthetic. With music at its core, Slimane's show mixes Mapplethorpe's portraits of legends such as Patti Smith and Blondie with samples of the artist's obscure jewelry designs.
But the exhibition's high note is 'Slow Movie': an exclusive 20-minute documentary that captures Hedi Slimane and Marianne Faithfull in deep discussion while flipping through three of Mapplethorpe's never-before-seen portfolios.


Robert Mapplethorpe
Curated by Hedi Slimane
October 13 through November 19