Misogyny* Fashion September 2018 Hedi Slimane
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The 'Donald Trump of fashion': Why fans of Celine are so mad at Hedi Slimane'southward work
The brand that once spoke to women has fashion insiders crying bloody misogyny – now that Celine is the playground of a man who seems determined to tear everything down.
(Photos: Celine, Art: Chern Ling)
28 Oct 2018 06:30AM (Updated: 10 Jul 2021 05:22PM)
When LVMH announced in January this yr that Hedi Slimane would succeed Phoebe Philo every bit creative manager of Celine, at that place was immediate trepidation among the women who have loved Philo'due south sleek, stealth wealth collections for a decade.
Only it wasn't enough preparation to caryatid fans for what the new artistic and paradigm director showed at his inaugural collection in September – which, past the manner, has been "renamed" Celine by ditching the accent (information technology wasn't the first time he had changed the name of his employer, having shortened Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) to Saint Laurent when he was at its helm).
But that's non all he ditched at Celine.
Slimane had sent down the runway a collection that looked, well, exactly like Saint Laurent's, which he left in 2016. Of course, he is not the only designer guilty of major artful shake-ups. His YSL predecessor Tom Ford had done it in 1999, much to the displeasure of founder Yves Saint Laurent himself. Merely it was a movement that succeeded in bringing YSL into the mainstream – and coin into the banking concern for the brand.
While a predominantly blackness, stone-north-roll vision of a teenager isn't too far off the Saint Laurent marking, it was a different state of affairs with Celine. For some, it is tantamount to sacrilege to replace Philo'southward entire aesthetic with a much younger, much showier, much less-subtle collection without keeping a single element of her work.
Slimane hasn't just scratched Philo's proper noun off the wall – he'due south painted his portrait over it.
MISOGYNY AND THE 'DONALD TRUMP OF Style'
Over her ten years at Céline (accent intact), Philo had congenital up an ground forces of followers who identified with her sartorial philosophy that reflected the lifestyle, personality and fifty-fifty conflict that a adult female regularly experiences in real life.
Her shapeless, crumpled dresses reflected the relaxed holidays she longed for. Her crisp, linen pants were sensible but maximally luxurious because working women want to feel and look good. Her numberless were expandable – they could be tucked nether the arm, and nevertheless concur a truckload of baby toys and a blanket. Her shoes? Why, she singlehandedly made white, rubber-soled slip-ons the must-wear/must-copy shoe. Céline fans felt understood and catered for.
Model Stella Tennant said this to The New York Times when Philo departed the characterization: "There's something a female designer does differently from a male designer… She knows how women want to dress."
Merely now, Philo is gone. And in her place is the man who offset rocked the globe (and restored Karl Lagerfeld'south mojo) with very skinny suits for very young men.
The reaction to Slimane's Spring-Summer 2019 for Celine was visceral. Cries of misogyny rang out.
Robin Givhan of The Washington Post said, "Slimane doesn't seem especially interested in addressing the mundane issues in a woman's life. His fashion is not hither to solve your bug. Relieve your problems for your therapist. His designs are about his vision. They are not welcoming."
Fourth dimension mag'due south Cady Lang was non happy: "I am taking a break from my outrage at the racist/sexist men of the Kavanaugh Hearing to indulge in some outrage over Hedi Slimane'south entirely predictable, heinous Celine debut (Saint Laurent 2.0 on primarily emaciated white models). F*** power-hungry white men."
Hollywood Reporter merely asked, "Is Hedi Slimane the Donald Trump of mode?"
Fans of Philo-era Céline took to social media to limited their dismay at what they saw as a barbarous male person takeover of the well-nigh intelligent and relevant women's luxury brand there always was.
Not only that, merely in truthful Slimane mode, stick-thin, barely legal, white models need merely employ, it seemed. That he expects women to fit into his signature skinny pantsuit a la Le Smoking – at present unisex! – is a argument in itself.
Same SLIMANE, DIFFERENT Solar day?
Singapore-born, New York-based fashion photographer Wah has been following Slimane'south career, initially with enthusiasm when he offset helmed Dior Homme, and with increasing horror at every turn since.
"Afterward 2005, Hedi Slimane began to express his obsession with youth and information technology seems to me from that signal, the models got thinner and thinner, and younger and younger," said Wah. When Slimane's artful started to be heavily influenced past the rock music scene, which relied heavily on thrift store aesthetics, the innovation stopped, he noted.
We don't enter a fashion house to imitate our predecessor, much less to take over the essence of their work, their codes and elements of linguistic communication. The goal is not to go the opposite way of their work either. It would be a misinterpretation.
When Wah heard of Slimane's new appointment, his first reaction was "despair".
"I was momentarily hopeful that he might surprise everyone – because it seemed ludicrous that he would repeat himself. But in the end, that was exactly what he did."
"The deviation this fourth dimension is that he is referencing himself at Saint Laurent. He was exploring something new with womenswear when he started in that location. Now, at Celine, it seems every bit if he doesn't really accept much more than to say that he didn't say then."
READ: Influencing the influential: the man who has Madonna, Rihanna and Beyonce selling for him
Slimane's cocky-concocted hype could have also brought on the disappointment, said XY, a luxury fashion insider in Singapore, who declined to exist named for this story. Slimane had re-booted the make's Instagram, re-designed the logo, and teased followers with monochrome images from his Celine campaigns.
"After creating so much hype earlier his collection showed, he can't fault anyone for having loftier expectations of his inaugural show for Celine," said XY. "But the collection was a thwarting to me. His womenswear is the aforementioned as what he brought to Saint Laurent; his menswear is a re-enactment of Saint Laurent hybridised with Dior Homme."
Given the palpable despair, it was inevitable that someone would start a social media account as a tribute to Philo.
I tin can't imagine the formula succeeding... Specially without the heft of a historic brand similar Yves Saint Laurent behind it all.
Canadian manner lover Gabrielle Bouchinha launched her Instagram business relationship @oldceline on Sep 2. In a month and a half, information technology has attracted 97,000 followers, including highly influential personalities similar Virgil Abloh, creative managing director of Louis Vuitton Men; lauded street fashion photographer Tommy Ton; and Human being Repeller founder Leandra Medine.
The account features photos from the #oldceline community of their favourite Philo-era looks and items.
It's a lovely sentiment. But after all is said and done, Philo's non coming back. Slimane is here to stay (at to the lowest degree for now), so what will happen next?
ALL ABOUT THE Coin?
The rumour was that Philo was unwilling to expand the Céline make to include a men'due south line, haute couture and perfume. "With that in mind, it becomes clear that every bit Slimane was available, they now had the opportunity to compete with the success Slimane himself congenital at Saint Laurent for Kering," said Wah.
XY agreed: "From a business point of view, Slimane could possibly turn Celine into another Saint Laurent, which he had congenital into a juggernaut with double-digit, year-on-yr growth. Saint Laurent is now the 2d biggest brand under the Kering luxury portfolio, accounting for 14 per cent of its sales."
What could fight the giant Saint Laurent better than another Saint Laurent, especially now that the "real thing" has resurfaced, albeit with some other brand name slapped on that must-have pocketbook?
And if it is merely some sort of gambit to swing the luxury consumer's dollar from Saint Laurent to Celine, with zero regard for what the brand is intrinsically about, information technology leaves one to wonder: How long tin this go on?
"I tin can't imagine the formula succeeding," said Wah. "The word is that while his tenure at Saint Laurent was generationally new enough to perform well, six years on, Slimane's wait might non accept the same impact in the stores, especially without the heft of a historic brand like Yves Saint Laurent behind it all.
"Celine's significance comes simply from the newly erased work of Philo, which Slimane is ignoring and restarting with an empty slate. So, the question so is, will his vision stand up on its ain merit without the backing of a storied brand?"
He should have his own brand already. It may allow him to take things to the next level without having to be concerned virtually an existing history.
Before his show on Sep 28, Slimane gave a rare interview to Le Figaro, in which he foreshadowed and dedicated the change he was about to bring.
"We don't enter a manner house to imitate our predecessor, much less to take over the essence of their work, their codes and elements of language. The goal is non to go the opposite way of their piece of work either. It would be a misinterpretation."
"Respect means preserving the integrity of each individual, recognising the things that belong to another person with honesty and discernment. It also means starting a new chapter. We arrive then with our own stories, our ain culture, a personal semantic that is different from the ones of houses in which we create. We have to be ourselves, without whatever stance, against all odds."
Slimane could take his ain suggestion by existence himself. Surely the time is ripe for Slimane to get the way of Tom Ford and launch his eponymous line, one that's all his, and non an unholy possession of an existing brand.
"What I'd like to run across is Slimane doing his own brand, instead of imposing the same aesthetic upon whichever brand he helms," said XY. "I would likewise really like to see him return to photography."
Wah agreed: "He should accept his own brand already. It may let him to take things to the next level without having to exist concerned about an existing history."
Perhaps if Slimane does succeed in spinning Celine into a Saint Laurent – and the Generation Zers aren't sick of him in six months – he might just take enough bargaining power to go his bosses to let him start his ain thing.
Until and then, we'll just have to content ourselves with gazing at @oldceline.
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