Aside from the occasional editorial he's shot for Saint Laurent, photography and design didn't intersect professionally all that often for Slimane. But this series is totally different. "It is a photographic repertoire of its own," Slimane said of fashion imagery, adding that it's about "a certain romanticism, precisely composed, with a production, groomers, stylist, etc." His V portfolio, on the other hand, "is about direct, spontaneous and reduced portraiture, something like a principle of bare realism around the subject only." (Yeah, we'll give you a moment to parse through that explanation.) He actually hasn't worked on fashion photography since he left Saint Laurent, he told the magazine, but he doesn't consider the genre to be totally off-limits. So, for now, working behind a camera, instead of on a sketchpad or in an atelier, appears to be Slimane's focus. However, this doesn't mean Slimane's fashion chapter has been closed for good. "I never said I will stop designing in the future," he said. He also remains steadfast about the fact that you'll probably never see his name printed on the clothing tag. "My own name was always off limits, dedicated to photography," Slimane explained to the Times. So, if (or, let's be real, when) Slimane returns to design, don't expect it to be an eponymous line.