Hedi Slimane - Designer

[dior_couture1245]

Doesn’t surprise me at all.

Unlike almost all other fashion brands now, Hedi’s Céline gives people very straightforward, stylishly proportioned, well made classic items. No one looks like a fool or a clown or a fashion victim in his clothes. You might not care for it on the catwalk, but you most likely would be happy to have any of his items in your closet, if you don’t already.

 

[Frederic01]

The Autumn Winter 2022 Women's show in being shown on May 4th via IG and YouTube.


CELINE

 

[Uemarasan]

So we’ve really reached that point in fashion history when looking like everyone else is held up as some kind of virtue? Don’t look too different! You’ll look like a fool! A clown!

Well, heaven help us all.

 

[volft]

More accurately, looking "believable" is the virtue. If you look like you're wearing a costume, like a clown, then you will be treated like a clown. I don't think there's anything wrong with that, but that's not what most people want. Everyone is wearing a costume at the end of the day, those who are singled out are those who don't pull it off in a convincing manner. Almost every actor in tv shows and movies are wearing a costume, but it almost never seems that way because it feels "real" and "believable".

Hedi's thoughts on this:

One of the things that sets you apart is the perfection of each individual garment, the almost magnetic sense of desirability your clothes inspire when you see them in a store. I think how often other designers get it wrong, by having the wrong fit or the wrong fabric or adding too many details or too few. It seems to me that, when you design an army parka for example, you are seeking to find the essence and the ideal form of that item. Can you talk about that process? Does it involve a lot of hit and miss, with multiple samples and so on, or does it come together quickly? Can you give an example of how a specific garment came together?

Avoiding unnecessary detail, an awkward pocket, no conceptual proportions or construction, simplifying with the best quality possible.

There is also the reconstitution of authentic fabrics, produced where they are historically meant to come from, developing an expertise and uncompromising precision around those items.

A designer leather or suede jacket for instance is difficult to wear unless it feels it has always been there, believable, and authentic enough.

It takes also forever to make the clothes look like they have always belonged, the credibility of it all. It is an expertise that you keep pushing. You try until it feels just right, and will age accordingly, looking better with time, and looking like you own the clothes you wear. This principle of authenticity applies to everything.

Any piece has to feel real, from an evening gown that needs a perfect luxury and couture execution, to a leather jacket or a pair of denim that can’t feel “designed.“

It is not about “high and low,” but a certain “noblesse” in everything if the execution feels just right.

Hedi describes it as being a feeling of "noblesse" when people pull off what they're wearing, and everything feels right and nothing seems out of place.

 

[kasper!]

I think that Chanel/YSL joint announcement some time ago was meant to Hedi, non?

Celine's tweed jackets are quickly becoming their best-seller...

 

[volft]

I think that Chanel/YSL joint announcement some time ago was meant to Hedi, non?

Celine's tweed jackets are quickly becoming their best-seller...

You mean them trying to salvage their PR after Chanel singled out Saint Laurent, and not Celine, for copying their tweed jackets?

This is the most recent fight on our list. After presenting Saint Laurent's FW21 collection, all focused on tweed suits and maxi-jewellery, echoing in fact certain classic elements of Chanel style, Bruno Pavlosky, president of Chanel, said: «How sad to see a brand like that parasite another brand. Saint Laurent is a magnificent brand. I think it’s such a shame not to write your own history and to have to sponge off someone else». Anthony Vaccarello or Saint Laurent have not responded yet, but there is no doubt that Pavlovsky's harsh comment did arouse anyone's ire.

I agree that it is a shame for a brand to not focus on their own history. There is an inaccurate narrative online where Hedi is forcing tweed jackets into Celine just to compete with Chanel because those tweed chasseur jackets have actually been a part of the brand history of Celine. Here is a vintage Celine piece that Hedi's designs are based off of:

Hedi's approach is pretty simple. He mines the archives and alters it so it becomes modern, without losing its "essence". Hedi's version looks better than this vintage version.

 

[Steddycam91]

Him publicly complaining about other fashion houses doing tweed jackets is so embarrassing. If this is a concern, maybe you should, you know...take a meeting with your head designer? You're not some small new label trying to compete and find your footing in the marketplace. You're Chanel. Arguably the chicest, most iconic fashion house in modern times...and yet they just can't seem to get it together.

Take their celeb endorsements: between Margot Robbie and Kristen Stewart, you have two of the hottest A-list actresses as ambassadors...and you can't even manage to make them some decently flattering custom pieces for their high-profile red carpet appearances. It's kind of astonishing.

Oh well! Just keep jacking up the prices and hoping that'll hide the fact that there's a huge gaping hole of creativity and excitement in the brand since Karl's passing.

 

[Frederic01]

Celine to Return to Paris Runway on June 26
Hedi Slimane and Celine will close Men's Fashion Week in Paris.


BY MILES SOCHA / JUNE 8 2022

LAST WORD: Hedi Slimane and Celine will close Paris Men’s Fashion Week this month with a live runway show.

According to the official calendar published by the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, French fashion’s governing body, Celine has the 9:30 p.m. CET spot on June 26, capping off six days that will feature 76 physical events out of a total of 84. The men’s shows for the spring 2023 season are scheduled for June 21 to 26.

One of menswear’s ringleaders and showmen, Slimane is known for exacting physical displays featuring dazzling mechanical contraptions and lighting, original music and a very specific casting that skews tall, young and very thin.

The designer pivoted to fashion films during the pandemic, taking his roving drone cameras to French castles, skate parks and motor-racing tracks, and has been slow to return to the runway. He unveiled Celine’s women’s collection for fall 2022 online on May 4 just as other European brands began destination shows for their resort 2023 offerings.

WWD

 

[Frederic01]

The show will be on June 26th at 2130 at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris. The title of the show is "DYSFUNCTIONAL BAUHAUS".

 

[Lola701]

The show will be on June 26th at 2130 at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris. The title of the show is "DYSFUNCTIONAL BAUHAUS".

Palais de Tokyo seems so weird for him. It has always been the Invalides or Carreau du Temple. Maybe a new dynamic (within the same principles) for his menswear.

One thing that I love is the energy of his shows. I’m excited for his return to real shows.

 

[Frederic01]

CELINE

 

[Frederic01]

Does anybody know what is happening with the Womenswear Spring Summer 2023 show? Is it happening or cancelled? Celine went from doing four runway shows a year to doing one runway show a year (with a live audience I mean). What happened?

 

[Kimihiro]

Does anybody know what is happening with the Womenswear Spring Summer 2023 show? Is it happening or cancelled? Celine went from doing four runway shows a year to doing one runway show a year (with a live audience I mean). What happened?

Hedi already did the last one live so I guess even if delayed the next one will be. They might be doing it late Nov/early December as with last year. I mean they can afford to, the brand’s been doing well.

 

[kasper!]

This is a bit irrelevant but recently the classic bag Celine Box makes its first appearance in outlet stores after launching in 2010. IMO it means Phoebe's bags will be out of production soon.

 

[LadyJunon]

Honestly, the whole "off-schedule" and the "will they or won't they?" thing each season is so exhausting and frustrating. We never know when the next show is or even if it's gonna happen. That's why I've stopped caring about Jacquemus and Galliano's Margiela. I can guess that's why the industry stopped caring about Alaïa too.

 

[THD96]

can guess that's why the industry stopped caring about Alaïa too.

Which industry has stopped caring about Alaïa, I can tell you that up until his last show people were always excited to attend an Alaïa show.

Unlike all these brands that forced their designers to send out mediocre merchandise every season. Alaïa takes time to focus on his craft and it shows in the clothes. It's can take 16 months for him to construct a jacket or he can work on a garment for 5 years, doing research and trying different techniques to achieve what he wanted. He is the last designer to do this.
And despite being a household name, Alaïa still operated with a small atelier, everything was done in-house by him. Richemont only expanded the house since Pieter's arrival.
With Alaïa it's always about the clothes, it was never about the stunts or noises.

Back to Celine, I hope this time gap can help Hedi to come up with something good.

 

[Kimihiro]

Back to Celine, I hope this time gap can help Hedi to come up with something good.

This is why I really don’t care about the delayed show. We know what it’ll be. Nice, pretty clothes which serves his clientele well. No interesting propositions whatsoever. It’s purely a promotional thing at this point, even if you really do end up seeing at stores what he shows.

 

[LadyJunon]

So I found out what's happening. Spring'23 is getting a digital show film, while Fall'23 is showing in a month in Los Angeles.

EXCLUSIVE: Celine Is Getting a Big Jump on Fall 2023
Hedi Slimane has set Dec. 8 for a fashion show in Los Angeles to unveil Celine's fall 2023 collection.

By MILES SOCHA
NOVEMBER 2, 2022, 10:45AM

Hedi Slimane is a tad late unveiling Celine’s spring 2023 collection, but he will be early — way early — with the one he’s designing for the following season.

WWD has learned that Slimane and Celine are plotting a fashion show in Los Angeles, California, on Dec. 8 to unveil the fall 2023 collection — more than two months before fashion weeks for that season kick off in New York, London, Milan and Paris.

Meanwhile, the spring 2023 collection will be showcased as a film, to be streamed on Celine’s website and social platforms sometime during November — more than a month after Paris Fashion Week wrapped nearly a month of spring 2023 showings.

Celine’s spring 2023 collection was filmed on models in the south of France, but the precise timing and other details are still under wraps.

Likewise, Celine did not disclose an exact location for the Los Angeles runway event.

California has become a hot spot for destination shows, with Ralph Lauren, Dior, Louis Vuitton and Saint Laurent among brands that have mounted runway displays there in recent years.

Celine’s fall showing joins a smattering of itinerant runway events in early December, with Dior unveiling its pre-fall menswear in Egypt on Dec. 3 and Chanel its latest Métiers d’Art collection in Senegal.

A resident of Los Angeles throughout most of his years helming Saint Laurent, Slimane staged a big fashion show for that brand at The Hollywood Palladium in 2016.

He joined Celine as its creative and image director in 2019, leading the brand into menswear, fragrances, beachwear, made-to-order crocodile handbags — and even pet accessories.

He’s also made off-calendar timings for collection unveilings a feature of his Celine, which recently has been going from strength to strength.

Revealing its third-quarter sales results last month, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton said revenues grew 24 percent in its fashion and leather goods division, and trumpeted very strong growth at Celine.

Slimane’s obsession with L.A. subculture and the cool kids in the indie rock scene preceded his arrival at Yves Saint Laurent in 2012, and stretch back to his influential stint as the designer of Dior Homme between 2000 and 2007.

“I arrived in California in 2008, and I was already very attracted to Los Angeles, where I frequently went since the end of the 1990s,” he told French newspaper Le Figaro in 2018. “I would start all my Dior collections there, in my hotel room. The city was still asleep, so it was the perfect time to fill in a blank page. There was no creative or artistic stimulation yet, nor was there an emergence of a strong music scene.…[Los Angeles] has changed today. It’s been taken over and the authenticity is slowly getting lost because the megalopolis appeals to the world and the youth. Los Angeles is an open-air construction site and its mythical places are disappearing day by day.”

WWD

 

[LadyJunon]

Which industry has stopped caring about Alaïa, I can tell you that up until his last show people were always excited to attend an Alaïa show.

Unlike all these brands that forced their designers to send out mediocre merchandise every season. Alaïa takes time to focus on his craft and it shows in the clothes. It's can take 16 months for him to construct a jacket or he can work on a garment for 5 years, doing research and trying different techniques to achieve what he wanted. He is the last designer to do this.
And despite being a household name, Alaïa still operated with a small atelier, everything was done in-house by him. Richemont only expanded the house since Pieter's arrival.
With Alaïa it's always about the clothes, it was never about the stunts or noises.

Back to Celine, I hope this time gap can help Hedi to come up with something good.

Maybe I said that a bit too harshly. What I meant about nobody caring is that there's close to no documentation, no reviews, no proof of existence of any of his post-90s work. While he obviously had a solid business, it's depressing when the only proof of his existence in the last decade is his death and the shows of his sh*tty successor.

 

[Lola701]

Which industry has stopped caring about Alaïa, I can tell you that up until his last show people were always excited to attend an Alaïa show.

Unlike all these brands that forced their designers to send out mediocre merchandise every season. Alaïa takes time to focus on his craft and it shows in the clothes. It's can take 16 months for him to construct a jacket or he can work on a garment for 5 years, doing research and trying different techniques to achieve what he wanted. He is the last designer to do this.
And despite being a household name, Alaïa still operated with a small atelier, everything was done in-house by him. Richemont only expanded the house since Pieter's arrival.
With Alaïa it's always about the clothes, it was never about the stunts or noises.

Back to Celine, I hope this time gap can help Hedi to come up with something good.

To be fair, the industry at large stopped caring about Alaia from maybe 1993 to when Prada came on board in 1999. The only difference is that the off-schedule was organic with him. Today it’s just pure buzz…

From the mid to late 90’s, except for a few stores like Barney’s, a few publications and faithful clients, not a lot of people followed Alaia. Thankfully Gilles Bensimon and a lot of French editors still featured his work. He went as far as going back to produce clothes for his private clientele much like he did before his big break in 1981/1982.


I’m happy for Celine because Hedi is a showman but it will probably similar to his LA collection for Saint Laurent or his usual stuff for Celine.