Hedi Slimane leaves Celine

The circulating rumors have been confirmed: Hedi Slimane will leave Celine. After seven years at the helm of the brand and a complete repositioning of it, the cult designer who popularized skinny jeans and brought back Indie Sleaze is leaving the brand following various rumors of tensions with LVMH’s top management. The name of his successor has not yet been announced, but fashion bookmakers are pointing to Michael Rider, former creative director of Ralph Lauren's womenswear. The entire affair remains shrouded in mystery as Slimane has always kept a low profile, avoiding the press as much as possible and preferring to present his collections in digital format after the pandemic. Under his leadership, Celine also exploded commercially. In 2018, Bernard Arnault set the goal of reaching a turnover of 2-3 billion euros within five years. Thanks to the introduction of fragrance collections in 2019 and the launch of makeup, sales surpassed 2.6 billion euros in 2023, making Celine one of LVMH’s most important fashion brands, after Louis Vuitton and Dior.

During Paris Fashion Week, he presented another film for the SS25 women's collection titled Un Été Français, fueling speculation about a possible future at Chanel, which is currently searching for a new creative director. However, it remains unclear whether the collection was a kind of "audition" or a diss to the brand from which he is rumored to have been rejected due to creative control issues. His departure from Celine marks the end of an era for the brand, which, however (we're willing to bet), is not expected to radically reinvent itself but rather grow from the tabula rasa Slimane created out of Phoebe Philo's unforgettable yet niche aesthetic. It remains to be seen what Slimane’s next move will be, but the fashion world is watching closely the future of one of the most influential and controversial designers of our time.