French fashion icon Saint Laurent Paris, formally Yves Saint Laurent, has opened its first new store since the luxury house underwent a headline-making rebrand last year.

Saint Laurent, also formally abbreviated to YSL, changed its name in 2012 after the celebrated fashion designer, Heidi Slimane, was appointed as its creative director.

The rebrand divided fashionistas and brand devotees, with the fashion house telling critics it wanted to launch into a new era and focus on the brand’s French roots.

Despite the controversy, the reception to Slimane’s subsequent fashion collections has been overall quite good, with his new flagship Saint Laurent store in Paris ushering in a new minimalism. 

The Champs-Élysées concept store is overwhelmingly art deco inspired, with design features including black and white marble walls, a huge staircase, and shiny metal fixtures.

The monochrome space will be followed by a second concept store in London later this year, with further flagships likely down the line in Asia and other European cities.

Saint Laurent was founded in 1962 by French designer Yves Saint Laurent, who died in 2008, and his philanthropist partner, Pierre Bergé.

It’s perhaps best known for “Le Smoking” suit designed by Laurent in 1966, which popularised androgynous tailoring for women in the 60s and defined French fashion along with names like Coco Chanel.

Some devotees are still holding onto its roots, such as the unknown creators of website, whataboutyves.com, who released a t-shirt with the slogan “Ain’t Lauren’t Without Yves” this year.