Hedi Slimane - Designer, Creative Director of Celine

[Lola701]

you get a creative who's experienced in his craft, been at a top position at 3-4 houses and excelled at all of them and has not been burnt out, has a clear vision from day 1, not a media wh*re, stood up to the establishment when it was still big, still has success afterward... and he still isn't good enough? Karl wasn't Karl Lagerfeld before Chanel, the house lets him grow into who he is as we know him now.

But it’s different because there’s a feeling that we have seen everything of Hedi Slimane already. He has done the Chanel-ish thing…

Karl was already an important designer when he joined Chanel in 1982. But I don’t think his Chloe, his Fendi, his work for Krizia, Mario Valentino and even back to Patou informed what to expect from his Chanel…

There’s a beauty in the idea of an experienced designer entering a new territory and making one with it that is totally absent with the perspective of Hedi Slimane at Chanel.

That’s why I have always championed the names I champion because Chanel has a voice in the fashion conversation and needs to reclaim it. Unfortunately, people are obsessed about luxury and numbers but nobody is driving the fashion conversation.

Chanel is Chanel. It’s repetitive by default. Karl managed to still make it part of the fashion conversation. And I think this is what people want.

Hedi will present a fabulous jacket worn with jeans and his all on going language but you don’t need him for that….

 

[alwaysademo]

Karl was already an important designer when he joined Chanel in 1982. But I don’t think his Chloe, his Fendi, his work for Krizia, Mario Valentino and even back to Patou informed what to expect from his Chanel…

Karl had a unique career trajectory. He did stints at different kinds of places, not too big so he could learn a little bit of each of these houses' cultures and histories, which informs his future eclecticism at Chanel. I think Hedi is similar in that very aspect. He's rare in that he was able to be that successful as a freelancer for such a long time, and he understood branding much as Karl did. The difference is Hedi might not learn as much from these stints since he always insisted his own exclusive vision everywhere.

I remember Karl said somewhere that looking back he learnt everything about fabrics and materials from Patou, and when he was at Patou he hated it.

That’s why I have always championed the names I champion because Chanel has a voice in the fashion conversation and needs to reclaim it. Unfortunately, people are obsessed about luxury and numbers but nobody is driving the fashion conversation.

Chanel is Chanel. It’s repetitive by default. Karl managed to still make it part of the fashion conversation. And I think this is what people want.

Hedi will present a fabulous jacket worn with jeans and his all on going language but you don’t need him for that….

Chanel is tricky. The context of Karl's hiring was when a house was not hot. Now it's what everyone talks about, there's a sense that you have to prove the world you're the best. That requires a huge ego and real competence. The first I know Hedi has. This is something one has to consider. VV was by his side all those years, and the moment the spotlight was on her she couldn't take it.

As for aesthetics and the actual design, I have to agree. The beauty of Karl's Chanel is hard to replace. Its richness will weigh heavy on anyone who ends up taking the seat.

 

[style_expert]

There’s a beauty in the idea of an experienced designer entering a new territory and making one with it that is totally absent with the perspective of Hedi Slimane at Chanel.

I tend to agree. Hedi would be a too perfect match for Chanel in a way. From a branding point of view he already created a Chanel-light version with Celine. With Hedi you can be sure of a flawless execution and very consistent branding, but unless he is able to re-invent himself in a way, it's all going to be rather predictable.

Besides that point, I honestly don't see great potential in Leena Nair and Hedi working together. It'll clash before he even starts. Unless she is out any time soon too, which also wouldn't surprise me.

 

[tourbillions]

you get a creative who's experienced in his craft, been at a top position at 3-4 houses and excelled at all of them and has not been burnt out, has a clear vision from day 1, not a media wh*re, stood up to the establishment when it was still big, still has success afterward... and he still isn't good enough? Karl wasn't Karl Lagerfeld before Chanel, the house lets him grow into who he is as we know him now.

hope youre not talking about slimane cause he is already burnt out doing the same thing all the time specially sl and celine. its all very limited and he cannot do anything new that chanel isnt already doing on its own.

 

[alwaysademo]

hope youre not talking about slimane cause he is already burnt out doing the same thing all the time specially sl and celine. its all very limited and he cannot do anything new that chanel isnt already doing on its own.

the same thing keeps making more money. something works.

 

[tourbillions]

the same thing keeps making more money. something works.

but chanel is already making money unlike when he joined celine and sl. he will add nothing new to the chanel vocabulary. he gets inspired by chanel and made sl/celine into little chanels. how would he do that to the house he gets inspiration from? he doesnt have a vision larger than what chanel is already doing otherwise he would stay in the former 2 houses and expand it further into something that will rival dior/lv atleast.

Edit: Chanel needs a visionary not a sheep. Hedi isnt a visionary, he is more of a stylist. Even Demna has created something more unique than Hedi.

 

[Lola701]

I tend to agree. Hedi would be a too perfect match for Chanel in a way. From a branding point of view he already created a Chanel-light version with Celine. With Hedi you can be sure of a flawless execution and very consistent branding, but unless he is able to re-invent himself in a way, it's all going to be rather predictable.

Besides that point, I honestly don't see great potential in Leena Nair and Hedi working together. It'll clash before he even starts. Unless she is out any time soon too, which also wouldn't surprise me.

To be honest, we don’t know if Leena Nair will be influential or not.
When Karl joined Chanel, his accord was with the Weirtheimers and their family…So much that he got rid of the women who approached for the job in the first place (Kitty D’Alessio). I don’t know how were his relationships with Kopelman but he dealt with Bruno Pavlovsky and was quite dismissive of Maureen Chiquet.

I think the most important person in the hierarchy is Pavlovsky more than Nair…

But indeed a personality like Hedi, who doesn’t seem to be a great « collaborator » outside of his universe, is a bit of an issue.

Hedi’s relationship with the Arnault has allowed him to run the show. He made no compromises. Karl made no compromises too but I mean, the simple thing like living in Paris was not an issue for him…

But yes, Nair will eventually leave, much like her predecessors but I think the force of Chanel is that it’s a not a tie kind of situation between business and creativity.

 

[alwaysademo]

but chanel is already making money unlike when he joined celine and sl. he will add nothing new to the chanel vocabulary. he gets inspired by chanel and made sl/celine into little chanels. how would he do that to the house he gets inspiration from? he doesnt have a vision larger than what chanel is already doing otherwise he would stay in the former 2 houses and expand it further into something that will rival dior/lv atleast.

Edit: Chanel needs a visionary not a sheep. Hedi isnt a visionary, he is more of a stylist. Even Demna has created something more unique than Hedi.

Exactly my point. Karl came to Chanel when it was undesirable turned it into the emblem of desirable. Hedi came when Celine didn't make money, he made it make money. Forget Celine, he made LA look attractive to fashion people. Visionary or not time will tell but he has plenty of sheeps of his own.

 

[blueorchid]

My problem with Hedi at Chanel is that... I think we all know what it'll look like and I'm already bored and tired. There's no way, in his old age, that Hedi would rise to the occasion like Karl and do something... different.

Oh wow, Hedi made LA look attractive to fashion people? I'm sorry, but that is so banal!!!

 

[alwaysademo]

Maybe you're right. From the way I see it, succeeding at a house after Phoebe Philo (unarguably the chosen fashion darling at the time), emerged unscathed without much media support, made it his own and a hit, tells me he is still fresh and has more to offer.

And yes, LA now compares to the 2010s is a whole new place, de-stigmatized and much more attractive. I'm sure it is due to a couple of other things, but Chanel had a show there recently and Versace did too. that's 2 of the fashion elites for you. i stay by my opinion.

 

[Lola701]

Exactly my point. Karl came to Chanel when it was undesirable turned it into the emblem of desirable. Hedi came when Celine didn't make money, he made it make money. Forget Celine, he made LA look attractive to fashion people. Visionary or not time will tell but he has plenty of sheeps of his own.

Hmm…When Hedi came, Celine was already a very successful brand.
I’m not sure Hedi would have took over Celine if it wasn’t resurrected by Phoebe Philo prior to that. When he left Dior Homme, every opportunity (except the one he wanted…Dior) was on the table.

Celine was a 500 M fashion house when Hedi took over, much like YSL was a 400 M fashion house when he took over.

Hedi at Celine wasn’t a risk but it was necessary because ultimately, you cannot grow a brand in a way that LVMH expect it with expanding. And to expand in menswear or beauty, you need an authority…And Hedi is an authority.

 

[Mody]

A lot of praises of Hedi received recently felt like history was rewritten. I remember how much sh*t he received when he just arrogantly presented his first Celine collection with no difference at all to what he had presented at SLP. And he had to change the direction to a Hermes lite one (?) season afterwards to avoid the backlash.
A lot of heat was off him after he no longer participate FW and steam started to pick up with the right celebrity endorsement, Lisa and Kaia.
His glam rock style for both men and women really started to stick after the whole new market is opened because of the celebrities.
One thing I’ll say is that his leather goods contributed a lot to his success. They are perfectly launched with the nostalgic with the ‘vintage’ vibe ‘old money’ aesthetic.

 

[tricotineacetat]

But it’s different because there’s a feeling that we have seen everything of Hedi Slimane already. He has done the Chanel-ish thing…

Karl was already an important designer when he joined Chanel in 1982. But I don’t think his Chloe, his Fendi, his work for Krizia, Mario Valentino and even back to Patou informed what to expect from his Chanel…

There’s a beauty in the idea of an experienced designer entering a new territory and making one with it that is totally absent with the perspective of Hedi Slimane at Chanel.

That’s why I have always championed the names I champion because Chanel has a voice in the fashion conversation and needs to reclaim it. Unfortunately, people are obsessed about luxury and numbers but nobody is driving the fashion conversation.

Chanel is Chanel. It’s repetitive by default. Karl managed to still make it part of the fashion conversation. And I think this is what people want.

Hedi will present a fabulous jacket worn with jeans and his all on going language but you don’t need him for that….

But don't you think the house codes of Chanel will most likely lead in the hand of most of today's designers to result in a foreseeable result? We've seen people post Chanel-influenced tweed jackets by a variety of designers here, from Chitose Abe to Jeremy Scott, all of which were heavily referential, with the ocassional quirky touch from deconstruction to surrealism.

Perhaps it would be the best excercise to look through every modern age designer to see for what would be the best Chanel re-interpretation to get a better idea of what Chanel could look like...

 

[style_expert]

I think the most important person in the hierarchy is Pavlovsky more than Nair…

Isn't Pavlovsky on the list to be pushed out from Chanel next?
If the rumors are to be believed there is quite some tension between him and Nair.
Clearly Nair has already been working on providing Chanel with a clean slate, gracefully letting go of several long-time executives at Chanel. Given her main background is in HR, it's not unthinkable she was specifically hired by the Wertheimers to do so, to facilitate a transition to a new guard of executives.

Obviously she's coming from a very corporate background which has very little affinity with French (fashion) culture and its sensitivities so it will be interesting to watch who will come out on top. I actually think this will be crucial in picking a new CD. Nair would probably be much more internationally oriented when it comes to selecting a new CD.

Anyway to get back to Hedi, I think he must be obsessed with Chanel and has been for a long time. It would be the ultimate pinnacle of his career. Even on his auto-pilot mode it could be a great commercial success. It just seems too much of a totally obvious choice for some reason.

 

[tourbillions]

Even on his auto-pilot mode it could be a great commercial success.

Chanel has a very diverse list of loyal clients... None of those would be seen wearing the basic stuff hedi had to offer in all his tenures. Just a look at the haute couture clients thread show what type of clothes their clients go for. Neglecting the already loyal clients of Chanel just to push for his comfort zone isnt good long term. His sheeps have proven to be not very long term clients.

 

[alwaysademo]

Karl lost all those pounds to be a proper sheep... what are you talking about? lol

 

[Grets]

Isn't Pavlovsky on the list to be pushed out from Chanel next?
If the rumors are to be believed there is quite some tension between him and Nair.
Clearly Nair has already been working on providing Chanel with a clean slate, gracefully letting go of several long-time executives at Chanel. Given her main background is in HR, it's not unthinkable she was specifically hired by the Wertheimers to do so, to facilitate a transition to a new guard of executives.

Obviously she's coming from a very corporate background which has very little affinity with French (fashion) culture and its sensitivities so it will be interesting to watch who will come out on top. I actually think this will be crucial in picking a new CD. Nair would probably be much more internationally oriented when it comes to selecting a new CD.

Anyway to get back to Hedi, I think he must be obsessed with Chanel and has been for a long time. It would be the ultimate pinnacle of his career. Even on his auto-pilot mode it could be a great commercial success. It just seems too much of a totally obvious choice for some reason.

I think you are on to something. Nair is ready to wipe the slate clean and maybe it's Hedi or a new team entirely. But Nair was picked so someone can start Chanel from the ground up.

 

[Lola701]

But don't you think the house codes of Chanel will most likely lead in the hand of most of today's designers to result in a foreseeable result? We've seen people post Chanel-influenced tweed jackets by a variety of designers here, from Chitose Abe to Jeremy Scott, all of which were heavily referential, with the ocassional quirky touch from deconstruction to surrealism.

Perhaps it would be the best excercise to look through every modern age designer to see for what would be the best Chanel re-interpretation to get a better idea of what Chanel could look like...

What you says about the codes is true. But in a way, Chanel is part of the common language of fashion after all.

Most designers have interpreted Chanel jackets so it wouldn’t be complicated to see but I think Chanel needs to have that nice balance between HF and the street.

Isn't Pavlovsky on the list to be pushed out from Chanel next?
If the rumors are to be believed there is quite some tension between him and Nair.
Clearly Nair has already been working on providing Chanel with a clean slate, gracefully letting go of several long-time executives at Chanel. Given her main background is in HR, it's not unthinkable she was specifically hired by the Wertheimers to do so, to facilitate a transition to a new guard of executives.

Obviously she's coming from a very corporate background which has very little affinity with French (fashion) culture and its sensitivities so it will be interesting to watch who will come out on top. I actually think this will be crucial in picking a new CD. Nair would probably be much more internationally oriented when it comes to selecting a new CD.

Anyway to get back to Hedi, I think he must be obsessed with Chanel and has been for a long time. It would be the ultimate pinnacle of his career. Even on his auto-pilot mode it could be a great commercial success. It just seems too much of a totally obvious choice for some reason.

It might be a thing…
1 week in and no news so far from Virginie’s close collaborators. Nothing from Michel Gaubert or even Amanda Sanchez.
Things are definitely rocky internally.
And I’m convinced she quit… I refuse to believe that the Weirthemers hired Nair to do their dirty work but who knows…

French culture has a different approach to corporatism, which can be very off-putting for a lot foreign executives. The social aspect is very important still and there’s a lot of causality in a way business is conducted sometimes…

Karl, through his personality, his relationship with the Weirthemers could protect all those people against corporatism and have his way. Without Karl, they are just all employees. And I’m not sure that Virginie had a typical CD contract.
I think she was an employee, her position was re-ajusted with the right salary and all, but given her age, she is totally eligible for retirement. She is 62 so she can quit as an employee and keep her rights.

The fact that she quit and Nair alleged plan doesn’t indicate for me a welcoming environment for Slimane lol. So no Slimane! Yay!

 

[GivenchyAddict]

Hedi just launched a Pilates collection 😂

 

[Lola701]

Hedi just launched a Pilates collection 😂

He is really turning Celine into Chanel/Vuitton. Tennis attire coming soon lol