Celine unveils first campaign pictures by Hedi Slimane

By

Dominique Muret

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Sep 10, 2018

Hedi Slimane’s makeover of Celine is one of this autumn’s hot topics. After the first Slimane-designed handbag was spotted, slung over Lady Gaga’s shoulder, and the luxury label’s new logo was unveiled in early September, Celine has now broadcast the images of the first ad campaign conceived by the creative.

The LVMH group’s label has in fact posted on its Instagram account a series of black and white portraits of young men and women with a distinctive androgynous allure, some of them clad only in a veil or bow, featuring the same haunting, minimalist mood and indie rock feel which have made Slimane’s reputation until now.

These black and white pictures and their distinctive style, with the label’s black logo sharply outlined on a white background, fall in a similar aesthetic canon to those the designer devised for Saint Laurent, when he oversaw the relaunch of the Kering group's brand.

A similarity which has sparked a debate on the web. While Slimane fans enthusiastically salute the return of the “maestro” and wax lyrical about the pictures, many others are perplexed, especially Celine die-hards who no longer recognise their favourite label, and underline the similarities with Saint Laurent.

Slimane is apparently keen to employ with Celine the same recipe which allowed him to make Saint Laurent sales skyrocket between 2012 and 2016. In the same way he transformed "Christian Dior monsieur" into "Dior Homme", and rechristened YSL as "Saint Laurent Paris", Slimane applied his touch to the Celine logo, from which he removed the acute accent on the first ‘e’.

A first step that is a must for the star designer, as he goes about the business of totally making over the label’s visual image, until now deeply linked with the former creative director Phoebe Philo, who had been in charge of Celine’s style for 10 years. The rendezvous is set for September 28 in Paris, to discover the full extent of the metamorphosis at the first Celine show by Slimane.