This year has seen a never-ending game of musical chairs at some of the biggest fashion houses in the world—Riccardo Tisci to Burberry, Virgil Abloh to Louis Vuitton, Kim Jones to Dior Homme. But the most consequential appointment might be Hedi Slimane to Céline. The former Saint Laurent designer was living every millennial’s dream of basking in the Los Angeles sun free of responsibilities for two years before taking on the new gig (and making the Céline's studio come to him) earlier this year. But we’ve heard basically nothing about what we can expect from the legendary designer—you know, the one who genuinely changed men’s fashion, and completely overhauled Saint Laurent with a rock-and-roll aesthetic that persists years after his departure. Slimane’s rebuild there was so thorough he even changed the historic label’s name, from Yves Saint Laurent to just Saint Laurent Paris. Presumably, he’ll have something similar in mind—and, just like that, today, there’s a report in the Business of Fashion promising another top-to-bottom overhaul from Slimane at Céline.
Of course, we already know Slimane is changing Céline in one critical way—just by adding menswear to the brand, he’s massively warping what was a beloved women’s label under previous designer Phoebe Philo. But he’ll also make another, maybe even larger shift, reportedly adopting the retail strategies of some of the most popular brands in that menswear world. “Slimane plans to adopt a fluid delivery cycle,” writes BoF’s Lauren Sherman, otherwise known as “the drop-style made famous by streetwear brands including Supreme.” Yeah, that’s it: Hedi’s back, and he’s bringing the drop—a strategy of releasing a small portion of a collection every week or so—with him.
When the nerdy menswear historians write about the year 2018, the tens of people reading will note this was the moment when streetwear finally took over the world. Listing out all the examples suddenly takes a while: Supreme is now Menswear Designer of the Year; the LVMH prize is investing in streetwear as fashion’s future, and the conglomerate acquired a stake in a sneaker consignment shop; Abloh was named both Louis Vuitton’s men’s designer and one of Time’s most 100 influential people in the world; and investment firms are pouring money into sneaker reselling apps and brands like A Cold Wall and Huf.
Now, Slimane is bringing streetwear’s release strategy to a storied French luxury house. As Supreme and brands like it have proven, the drop method is a strategic way to maintain hype through a season’s release, rather than burning through it by dumping everything at once. The drop keeps a customer eternally invested, which means Slimane is probably wise to try it out—especially when trying to generate interest for a label with no history of making menswear. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t something deeply strange about a 73-year-old fashion house borrowing tips and tricks from a brand that trades mostly on T-shirts and hoodies.
The shift in release strategy isn’t the only change coming to Céline either. Business of Fashion notes that Slimane doesn’t feel beholden to the minimalist casual luxury vibe created—and beloved among the label’s loyal customers—by former Céline designer Phoebe Philo. If you were into the rockstar look Slimane trotted out at Saint Laurent, chances are you’ll be quite happy with this new version of Céline. “He is doing exactly what he was hired to do, bringing his own vision to the brand,” the BoF report reads. Slimane is said to be cycling through “hundreds of samples” in hopes of distilling them into “perfect versions of classic pieces.” Which means more fussed-over varsities, biker jackets, and cuban-heeled Chelsea boots than Philo’s drapey pants and high-end Birkenstocks.
Slimane’s fingerprints will also be all over Céline’s physical presence. He’s remodeling each and every one of the label’s retail stores—a project that could come at the hefty cost of $1 million to $3 for smaller storefronts, and $6 million to $8 million for bigger ones, according to BoF—and it’s reported Céline is buying up additional, larger properties in Manhattan for a new store. A reasonable move when you consider that, if everything goes according to this plan, in the near future we’ll see young dudes camping outside those stores in hopes of copping the latest drop from Céline.
They might not be exciting, but at least they'd be wearable.
