CELINE is a French ready-to-wear and leather luxury goods brand that in its roots strives to deliver garments that are not only fashionable but made for living. The two most recent designers of the house Phoebe Philo and Hedi Slimane have both contributed to the exploration of the politely powerful, clever, and elegant image of those who wear Celine. While the two designers have differing looks, they both uphold the integrity and values of the brand- just within interpretations that communicate the same concepts within imagery that aligns more with each designer’s niche.
Celine was founded by Céline Vipiana and her husband Richard in 1945 as a made-to-measure children’s shoe boutique. More than a decade later, Vipiana branched out into ready-to-wear, with the goal to deliver fashion to the everyday woman. The house originally stressed the creation of creating clothes that women could live both comfortably and fashionably in, hence the launch of a sportswear drive line featuring leather vests, wool skirts, culottes, and fitted shirts. By the 1970s, Celine had gone international, with new boutiques opening across the globe, and went on to be a fashion house.
Philo’s tenure at Céline began in October 2008, and her decade-long era at the brand would breathe new life into the house changing the overall look, perception, and essence of the brand. She presented her first ready-to-wear collection for Spring/Summer 2010 at Paris Fashion Week. Her first collection at Celine was widely accepted and loved, her juxtaposition of visuals to express the concepts that would shape her time there resonated with many women through the stark contrast of tailored suiting and overcoats in balance with very elegant feminine shirts as well as the combination of differing fabrics such as leathers and silks. Her following collections carried this on through versatile and wearable clothing such as thick wool and cashmere sweats, streamlined dresses, and baggy trousers contributing to her substantial silhouettes.
This concept embraces femininity, but not overtly while still being functional and dynamic. She had very luxurious designs that were meant to display intellect rather than have the sole focus be on the clothes. Her understated, assertive clothing empowered many women as it was made for the modern woman who was well-rounded and worldly. It was a type of abstemious luxury that was soothing to many as it conveyed the concept of freedom by unrestricted pieces. Though not the typical look of rebellion, it is rebellious in nature, carried out with softness and refinement.
This sensitivity was created by the utilization of very clean simplistic precise cuts and larger silhouettes. She embraced minimalism and typically strayed away from adornments only to feature them concisely, creating even more emphasis on the lines of her clothes. She also offered the brand’s namesake it bag which was highly coveted and remains prominent as well brought Celine into the attention of the general public. Celine became known as the brand that focused on women’s lives, catering to the wants and needs of the modern woman who dressed for herself who has an openness to life.
Whitney Vargas for T Magazine in 2014, stated, “[Philo’s] specialness lies in synthesizing how women want to dress with how they actually live their lives And how we want to see ourselves: sophisticated, knowledgeable, not victimized by fashion. Increasingly, comfort is the ultimate commodification of luxury.”
Her clothing became synonymous with graceful power and those who followed Philo deeply connected with her narrative through enclothed cognition which is the impact that clothing has upon a person’s mental process and the way they think, feel, and function, in areas like attention, confidence, or abstract thinking. Luxury brands do not just sell a visual identity such as logos or color schemes, but an entire lifestyle and image that has been formed throughout the life of the fashion house. When purchasing from a brand you’re buying into the history and ideals linked to the house.
Philo generated a new brand identity that pushed forward the original concepts of the brand since Philo’s work revolves around utilitarianism- to prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected individuals. Through this, she was dubbed the female gaze in the industry and was known as the quote-unquote “woman’s designer.”
This identity ran very deeply for those who wore Philo’s Celine garments and was conceptually linked to modern women whose actions were powerful, alluring, achingly cool, and intelligent. She created a sense of belonging within her clothes states its, “Finding a uniform a place to fit in a clan you identify with-you wear the same clothes, you listen to the same music, go to the same clubs.”
This “old Celine” aesthetic is very much the one Philo sports herself, the clothing is quite personal and intimate since many of those who adore her take style cues not only from her runways but also her individual style. Both Philo and her clients contributed to this narrative of who the Celine woman is. After finishing the Fall 2018 collection, Philo announced her departure from Céline.
It’s common for when a new designer enters the house for the overall look of the house to differ, it happens time and time again as when people work with the same concepts it is inevitable that the execution will be different, but remain in the same realm.
On January 21, 2018, Hedi Slimane was appointed as Artistic, Creative, and Image Director. He is to direct all Céline collections, extending the brand’s offering with the launch of men’s fashion as well. The concepts that made Celine beloved are still prominent such as intellectual curiosity, freedom, and the pursuit of higher experiences, just with a different look that is more connected to the integrity of the house’s roots.
In a rare interview upon entering the house, Hedi Slimane says, “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 language. The goal is not to go the opposite way of their work either. It would be a misinterpretation. Respect means preserving the integrity of each individual, recognizing 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 own culture, a personal semantic that is different from the ones of houses that we create. We have to be ourselves, without any stance, against all odds.”
Hedi Slimane is one to look back and keep the house’s history intact. He did this again as he made use of Celine’s 60, 70s, and 80s repertoire, back from when the brand was a Parisian boutique and not an industry house.
Which first led to the removal of the accent from Celine leaving many people divided. Slimane explained that this logo is directly inspired by the historical version of the 1960s. Addressing the axed accent, Slimane wanted a “simplified and more balanced proportion” that echoes the “Celine collections of the 1960s where the accent wasn’t used often.” The spacing of the letters has also been “balanced out” and “brought closer together.”
It’s evident that he remains conscious of the backstory of the label through pieces such as head scarfs, fitted shirts, vests, culottes, midi dresses, and structured jackets, etc that carry on the narrative that Celine is advocating for practicality over frivolity. In regards to respecting Philo’s tenure, he does carry on the concepts of the Celine client through a different interpretation. To break down one concept for a specific example and to interpret the differing interpretations we will look at the concept of openness.
Hedi Slimane is known to reference and be deeply inspired by music, many of his collections will feature glam rock elements, slogan tees with quotes with rock referenced in 70’s typography, styling choices, and atmospheric presentations. This aligns with the concepts of the house as it is psychologically found within the relationship between personality and music preferences. Those who are open to experiences will prefer reflective as well as complex music such as classical and intense or rebellious music such as rock. While Hedi’s image of the Celine woman may be more impulsive in nature while Philo’s is more collected with openness depicted more maturely, both hold very similar and complex outlooks that are part of the brand’s original identity.
The integration of menswear doesn’t detract but rather adds to the component of unisex options that Slimane has. It was telling that Hedi Slimane’s first press release for his Celine he stated that “The entire wardrobe worn by the male models is unisex, and therefore will also be available for women.” The menswear consists of pieces such as the classic leather jacket, oversized shearling coats, ruffled and printed dress shirts, soft knits, high-waist flared pants, and tailored suiting. Traditionally, masculine clothing pieces are societally linked to independence, strength, and assertiveness that Celine has come to be well known for.
The beauty of this integration is that Slimane’s legacy silhouette is made of close tailoring, explicit proportions, and androgynous flourishes. It’s ambiguous and elegant, differing greatly from very traditional language within menswear due to the experimentation of silhouette and fabrication. The continual development of this brand identity is now formed through reflections of life and references that make nostalgia modern within the heritage of styles and expanding identities through fashion.
The “Old Celine” aesthetic created by Philo is not the only look of the house, I believe this disregards past works of designers who have aided in the formation of the house to the present day. If anything, this is reminiscent of Celine’s roots which were politely nonchalant and elegant prior to LVMH’s acquisition of the house. While Slimane’s work does differ greatly from Philo’s, it is to be expected as they both have different approaches and enliven the brand through their designs. The identity of the brand is cleverly communicated via silhouette, drape, fabrics, patterns, textures, and presentation of both designers that artfully combat traditional looks within their aesthetics which contribute to the reconfiguration and reform of Celine.
Sources:
Celine History Definition- https://www.crfashionbook.com/fashion/a23321746/history-of-celine-brand/ Hedi Slimane/Phoebe Philo Celine- https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/celine-paris-fashion-week-hedi-slimane-phoebe-philo-fans-angry-reaction-why-fashion-week-2019-a8564936.html Old vs New Celine- https://magazine.psykhefashion.com/industry-articles/old-celine-new-celine Enclothed Cognition- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022103112000200 Hedi Slimane joins Celine- https://hypebeast.com/2018/1/hedi-slimane-celine-artistic-creative-image-director What Do Music Preferences Reveal About Personality? – https://osf.io/v6z3y/ Accent- https://www.crfashionbook.com/fashion/a22933873/hedi-slimane-revamps-the-celine-logo-with-new-accent-less-look/
