A new dawn for Celine as Hedi Slimane stamps his mark on Paris

Looks on last night's catwalk confirmed that Slimane intends to march to the beat of his own drum
1/32
Emma McCarthy1 October 2018

As hype goes, there is little which could rival Hedi Slimane’s debut for Celine. Since the announcement at the start of the year that fashion’s most controversial designer would take over the house as artistic director, the fashion world has held its breath. Under the guidance of Phoebe Philo, who reigned over the label for a decade, Céline had flourished to become a byword for good taste with an aesthetic that held the idea of empowerment at its core and was nothing short of seismic in the way it influenced the wardrobes of everyday women. And, in the weeks leading up to his first show in Paris last night, it was clear that Slimane was not about to quietly pick up where Philo left off.

As the curtain was raised, the fears of Philophiles the world over were realised - this was not Céline as we knew it. But for fans of Slimane’s brand of sexed-up rock ’n’ roll - of which there are many - it certainly delivered.

The show began with drummers from France’s republican guard and, from there, the looks on the catwalk confirmed that Slimane intends to march to the beat of his own drum.

True to form, there were cocktail dresses - short, tight and black - and tuxedo jackets - super-skinny and razor-sharp. Certainly, Slimane is a man who knows his way around partywear. Aptly entitled Paris La Nuit, the collection of “dancing dresses” - as Slimane described them - spanned polka dot poufs and styles encrusted with crystals or furnished with feathers.

AFP/Getty Images

Slimane also introduced menswear to the house with the sort of drainpipe-skinny tailoring which came to define his legacy at the helm of Dior Homme. Except this time, that tailoring was also unisex.

The show follows months of speculation and a defiant rebranding campaign. Much like his decision to drop the Yves from Saint Laurent in 2012 during his tenure at the house, Slimane’s resolve to remove the accent from Céline is one which left fashion purists reeling and lead to mass defacement of advertising posters in which the accent was reinstated. Other signs this was a brave new era included his move to delete the brand’s official Instagram account and with it, the digital memory of its former designer, along with the unveiling of his first bag style on the arm of pop legend Lady Gaga, who sat front row at last night’s show.

Lady Gaga sat in the front row of last night’s show
AFP/Getty Images

Undoubtedly, his was an offering intended to prove itself as profitable as it has been polarising. During his four years at Saint Laurent, sales increased by 150 per cent, making it among the most successful brands in Kering’s portfolio along with Gucci and Balenciaga. Only time will tell if Slimane’s takeover at Celine will serve as lucrative for LVMH.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in