Among all the rumors that have surrounded fashion in recent months, that of Hedi Slimane’s departure from Celine, which began to be heard before the summer, was one of the ones that gained the most weight over time. Today, just when the month of parades has ended, it has been confirmed. “Under his creative direction, Celine has experienced global growth and has positioned itself as a major French couture brand,” the brand, owned by the LVMH group, stated in the official statement.
Slimane had been at the firm for seven years. He came from Saint Laurent, a brand whose aesthetics changed from top to bottom to bring it closer to rock and the street, and he was appointed replacement for Phoebe Philo, one of the most admired designers in the sector. He didn’t have it easy. Loved and hated in equal parts, he decided to de-emphasize the brand (formerly known as Céline), change the logo and veer towards a vintage aesthetic, with accessories that drank directly from the brand’s seventies legacy and garments that redefined the stereotype of chic. French: trench coats, jackets with gold buttons, large sunglasses… The Frenchman, who lives in Los Angeles (and from there has managed the creative direction of the house), expanded Celine’s business lines towards luxury perfumery and men’s fashion, a market in which he is a master. In fact, his fame comes from having revolutionized the men’s wardrobe during his time at Dior at the beginning of this century.
Although he began doing shows within Paris Fashion Week, he soon began to do them outside the official calendar and finally, especially after the pandemic (and after his disagreements with Vogue), to launch his collections in video format. He himself was in charge of photography and video direction. The last one, titled A French été and which served as a presentation of his collection for next summer, was launched last Sunday (guests at Paris fashion week were able to go to the offices the next day to touch the garments up close). With the famous ‘Femme Fatale’ as a soundtrack (the Velvet Underground imagery is another of his obsessions), Slimane showed a collection that the networks described as ‘very Chanel’: Tweed jackets, ballet flats, ruffled shirts…nothing too much away from his creative work at Celine, but the rumor is there: since Virginie Viard announced that she was leaving the house last June, speculation about who will occupy her position, perhaps the most important in fashion, has focused on the name of Hedi Slimane and Simon Porte Jacquemus.
Yesterday Chanel presented its spring collection signed by the creative team, without a visible head. Slimane is an appropriate figure for the position: a media personality, with a talent for sales and virality and who, like Karl Lagerfeld, carries out his own campaigns, generating, also like him, a very peculiar creative universe associated with pop culture. . If this appointment were to occur (something that is not confirmed), it is very likely that the designer would create a men’s line at Chanel, which would in some way represent a historical milestone not only in the house, but in contemporary fashion in general. For now, however, its future is unknown.
Hours after announcing Slimane’s departure, Celine confirmed another of the rumors that have been circulating in recent weeks. Michel Rider will be its new creative director. This is a face unknown to the public, but very familiar to the one who returns. After working at Balenciaga under Ghèsquière, he worked as design director (i.e. second in command) at Celine during the Phoebe Philo years. He joined Ralph Lauren in 2018, just when Slimane joined the brand. In these last six years, Rider has made the Polo line desirable (and media) again after several years of stagnation. He left the North American brand last May.
Celine’s commitment to Rider is, in principle, a return to the more discreet and sophisticated proposals of the Philo era, at a time, furthermore, when sales of large luxury brands seem to slow down. In any case, it is the appointment of a new face for the public, that is, a promotion of an old acquaintance to creative direction, a strategy that usually works (although it is not as frequent as it should). The cases of Michele at Gucci or, more recently, Chemena Kamali at Chloé are proof that sometimes there is no one better to breathe new life into a brand than to call someone who knows it firsthand.
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