Hedi Slimane - Designer

[NoInvite]

So sad that Celine is now one of those what could-have-been like when he left YSL. Celine beauty was exactly where he left off at YSL and he will step into new territories with this project can you imagine little Celine counters in marble and wood all around the world? He for sure has a great 360 approach and if it had been paired with Lisa it will for sure rivals Tom Ford. Beauty is where it's at now and huge mark ups for sure. Bravo for always looking into the next game. They should have trusted his vision and ran with it.

Now that he's gone I'm curious to see the next approach with Rider. But wiping all the images is not a good sign. I hope he has a good plan but now for real the CEO will take control.

Celine could keep the current offerings for a few more years (there's still the Belt and Luggage from Phoebe) The hardware is already recognizable so it's only building up the offer and finding the new bags. RTW there's a great foundation already, outerwear you still see the influence of the chasseur jackets everywhere. SLG the belt is already a cash cow, it already became an influencer uniform. Shoes not really, I don't think there were any iconic shoes. The most important thing is the monogram, the pattern already rival other canvas walk in the streets and you see the LV, Godard, Dior or Celine. Anything else? He truly made great product foundations so hope they are smart enough not to burn it down.

Now for image, that's where it's tricky. Who will Rider work with? Who will style the show? Which model will become the face? Since he's friends with Jonathan Anderson and Alum of Phoebe hope he doesn't go for a typical choice and try to recreate another Old Celine brand. We have too much of that already.

 

[HigthaVandah]

Obviously she stayed at the end. They are not going to fire her because she spent most of her career in the group. Now that Celine is the third brand in the group, there’s nothing higher for her at this point.
And she probably read the article already. All the sources are anonymous anyway so it’s just a deep dive article on the subject.

I was mostly being dramatic to express surprise that LVMH seems to be, if not exactly blaming her, then at least separating itself as a whole from the problem. Or is something getting lost in translation?

There seems to be a lot of effort, especially with the timing of information, going into showing us that Hedi didn't just have a meltdown and storm out on bad terms.

Like they want us to speculate about whether Hedi is going to another LVMH brand. Then when that dies down, some new piece of info will come out.

SLG the belt is already a cash cow,

Those metal-tipped western belts?

 

[Xone]

Ceo `s want to be also the stars since they see other ones get credit for the success of other brands, for fashion creativity should lead once brand positioning/direction is decided pre or upon hiring, suits ruining allot as they think creativity is replaced like a ceo or store staff.

Good for Hedi he walk away he knows he can redo whatever he did again Bravo!!!!!

CEO's in the end are so narrow minded...and how instrumental was Sevérine in Celine's success?

 

[Xone]

So, I suspect that the random releases of the collections since last year were probably done without the approval of the CEO.

Is this possible??...how??

 

[Lola701]

Is this possible??...how??

A CEO has a general overview of things regarding supply chains and things like that but the release of visuals was quite random.
The first and privileged tool of communication of Celine under Hedi has been IG. He releases the visuals on IG and then the whole thing flows and is diffused.

If it’s not the case that he released the visuals according to his own calendar, then why would he shoot a campaign for a fragrance that is supposed to come out in two years?

 

[HigthaVandah]

^ I don't disagree but he probably also wanted to avoid having that fragrance campaign shot by someone else.

 

[Lola701]

^ I don't disagree but he probably also wanted to avoid having that fragrance campaign shot by someone else.

Inevitably, it can be reshoot by the time it is released.

 

[blueorchid]

A throwback, Harper's Bazaar June 2002

 

[j02215]

I’m totally on Hedi’s side for this lol. These new crops of MBA CEOs all have way too big of egos - people are not buying a brand because of a CEO - they should just stay in their lane and manage finance, infrastructure, and logistics. Celine beauty would’ve been epic.

It’s also LVMH’s fault for not pairing a CEO that would work well with Hedi, knowing his personality.

 

[style_expert]

Severine Merle joined Celine as CEO in 2017 and Hedi in 2018. They had been effectively working together for many successful years until now. From 500 million euros to 2.5 billion since Hedi's appointment at Celine is quite an impressive growth, a feat which Merle can definitely add to her resume (and probably thank Hedi for).

Whatever the source of the conflict, I'm pretty sure LVMH would have been willing to move Merle within LVMH and appoint a new CEO if that would have kept Hedi at Celine. But I feel like Hedi had already made up his mind, maybe because he has something new on the horizon. If he left on amicable terms, within LVMH- if not, elsewhere. According to Lauren Sherman he is not going to Armani.

 

[HigthaVandah]

Got a marketing email today informing me that "IN CONTINUITY WITH THE EXISTING CELINE ART PROJECT LAUNCHED IN 2018", there is some new art on display at a store in Chicago. So i guess that's one piece of Hedi's legacy they are continuing. No mention of Hedi by name though.

 

[MulletProof]

^ so is Sotheby’s now stuck with the Michael guy? bahah

 

[KoV]

From 500 million euros to 2.5 billion since Hedi's appointment at Celine is quite an impressive growth, a feat which Merle can definitely add to her resume (and probably thank Hedi for).

I think Celine was already at 1 billion when Hedi joined. When he joined, Arnault told investors the goal was to grow it to 3 billion in 5 years. Hedi brought it to 2.5. A huge success, undoubtedly, but not a surprise - and still short of the high end of the goal. 🤭

 

[Lola701]

I’m totally on Hedi’s side for this lol. These new crops of MBA CEOs all have way too big of egos - people are not buying a brand because of a CEO - they should just stay in their lane and manage finance, infrastructure, and logistics. Celine beauty would’ve been epic.

It’s also LVMH’s fault for not pairing a CEO that would work well with Hedi, knowing his personality.

It’s just too easy to be on the creative side when he has his own responsibility.
When you have an omnipotent creative director who you are having difficult relationships with, how do you simply « manage » things?
Karl didn’t want to be bother, he only wanted to design. Hedi is like Tom, so he cares about the finances, the infrastructure, the logistic (because it’s all strategic decisions that has to be aligned with his vision). But how do you manage to deal with that when you are dealing with the everyday issues of the company and the creative side is totally detached from you.

It’s not a question of ego on the CEO’s part as much as it seems. Yes, it hurts the ego but being the CEO of Celine was also a challenge for her…Even more when we know how the beginning of Hedi at Celine were.

Severine Merle joined Celine as CEO in 2017 and Hedi in 2018. They had been effectively working together for many successful years until now. From 500 million euros to 2.5 billion since Hedi's appointment at Celine is quite an impressive growth, a feat which Merle can definitely add to her resume (and probably thank Hedi for).

Whatever the source of the conflict, I'm pretty sure LVMH would have been willing to move Merle within LVMH and appoint a new CEO if that would have kept Hedi at Celine. But I feel like Hedi had already made up his mind, maybe because he has something new on the horizon. If he left on amicable terms, within LVMH- if not, elsewhere. According to Lauren Sherman he is not going to Armani.

I’m sorry but considering that she worked her way up to be the CEO of Celine. That she has to prove herself as the CEO of Celine, that 2/3 years ago, Celine was already beyond 1billion, where do you move her? You have to make sense from a corporate and meritocratic POV.
You downgrade her? Celine is the third brand of the group. Loewe is growing. The CEO of Dior is Delphine and was Pietro Beccarri. The CEO of Vuitton was Burke and is now Beccarri.

I think it’s easier to say « you can just put her elsewhere » when someone has dedicated their entire life to a company.

The power dynamic was unbalanced by IMO, as the one with more power, it was also his duty to work in tandem with her. He is the one who changed the company she joined and who contributed in the right execution of his vision.

 

[j02215]

^ we will never truly know as LVMH never breaks it down except hinting at a pecking order (Celine moved up in LVMH since Hedi). Some articles are reporting sales, others are reporting profits.

Wwd estimated $1billion in 2017, but French pubs and cnn estimated 494million euros in 2017 to 2.5 billion euros in 2024. Let’s be honest, Celine with an accent was niche before Hedi despite its oversized presence within the fashion crowd and (over)representation in the fashion media.

 

[jeremydante]

Afraid of where he'll pop up again with his design monotony.

 

[louis]

Severine Merle joined Celine as CEO in 2017 and Hedi in 2018. They had been effectively working together for many successful years until now. From 500 million euros to 2.5 billion since Hedi's appointment at Celine is quite an impressive growth, a feat which Merle can definitely add to her resume (and probably thank Hedi for).

Whatever the source of the conflict, I'm pretty sure LVMH would have been willing to move Merle within LVMH and appoint a new CEO if that would have kept Hedi at Celine. But I feel like Hedi had already made up his mind, maybe because he has something new on the horizon. If he left on amicable terms, within LVMH- if not, elsewhere. According to Lauren Sherman he is not going to Armani.

Please, could you post the article from Lauren Sherman? I can’t find it nowhere
Thank you

 

[style_expert]

I think Celine was already at 1 billion when Hedi joined. When he joined, Arnault told investors the goal was to grow it to 3 billion in 5 years.

In the Challenges article PDFSD posted, they were specifying the revenue numbers I mentioned (from 500 million to 2.5 billion). But indeed the actual numbers are not entirely clear. If Arnault was hoping to triple the revenue in five years, following the numbers in the Challenges article, it more than tripled.

I’m sorry but considering that she worked her way up to be the CEO of Celine. That she has to prove herself as the CEO of Celine, that 2/3 years ago, Celine was already beyond 1billion, where do you move her? You have to make sense from a corporate and meritocratic POV.
You downgrade her? Celine is the third brand of the group. Loewe is growing. The CEO of Dior is Delphine and was Pietro Beccarri. The CEO of Vuitton was Burke and is now Beccarri.

I think it’s easier to say « you can just put her elsewhere » when someone has dedicated their entire life to a company.

The power dynamic was unbalanced by IMO, as the one with more power, it was also his duty to work in tandem with her. He is the one who changed the company she joined and who contributed in the right execution of his vision.

Of course, I think my point was more that Arnault would go very far to keep Hedi at Celine if that was really a main objective for LVMH. I'm sure Merle has done a great job, not only in coping with Hedi's antics and demands but also in implementing the vision of someone else who is a complete perfectionist in all details.
Having said that, her real challenge will come now in managing Celine when her role will probably be even more important while the brand is transitioning with a new, lesser known CD in an overall difficult, declining market.

Please, could you post the article from Lauren Sherman? I can’t find it nowhere
Thank you

It was in one of the latest episodes of her podcast.

​

 

[XPreme]

It’s also LVMH’s fault for not pairing a CEO that would work well with Hedi, knowing his personality.

Exactly! There can only be one “God”. And that is Hedi and no one else.
If you order Hedi, you will also get Hedi. And everything that happens next won't be a surprise. You rely on a safe horse and the horse should be very well looked after.

 

[louis]

In the Challenges article PDFSD posted, they were specifying the revenue numbers I mentioned (from 500 million to 2.5 billion). But indeed the actual numbers are not entirely clear. If Arnault was hoping to triple the revenue in five years, following the numbers in the Challenges article, it more than tripled.


Of course, I think my point was more that Arnault would go very far to keep Hedi at Celine if that was really a main objective for LVMH. I'm sure Merle has done a great job, not only in coping with Hedi's antics and demands but also in implementing the vision of someone else who is a complete perfectionist in all details.
Having said that, her real challenge will come now in managing Celine when her role will probably be even more important while the brand is transitioning with a new, lesser known CD in an overall difficult, declining market.


It was in one of the latest episodes of her podcast.

​

Thank you