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After a five-year stay that saw him move to Paris and St Tropez, Hedi Slimane returned to the City of Angels this week with Celine’s Fall/Winter 2023 show and accompanying rock concert.
For Celine’s first physical show format since before the pandemic, Slimane didn’t get to play. The concert featured live performances from Iggy Pop, The Strokes and Interpol, plus a DJ set from The Kills. His runway represented all the codes Slimane has created for himself during a 30-year career spanning stints creatively directing Dior Homme, Saint Laurent and, for the past five years, Celine.
It reminded us clearly that Slimane has threaded a needle in his career between his creative desires and his employment in houses named after other designers. Slimane has never had a self-titled label and has denied rumors over the years that he intends or wants to release one.
Celine AW23.
Photo: Robert Smith/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
Instead, he has essentially created his own brand under the names of others. Clothing labels may not say Slimane, but he’s punched his codes into the houses that have employed him: Dior Homme’s dark, form-fitting suits are now in the DNA of LVMH-owned Celine as well as Saint Laurent, owned by Kering. Likewise, flowy hooded capes, baby doll dresses, rock pinstripes, four-pocket military jackets, and high-heeled boots for men and women.
These Slimane codes were jam-packed on her Los Angeles runway. If Slimane is ever going to come out with a self-titled brand, this nostalgic collection would surely be the foundation for him.
As a Fall/Winter collection, it was as off-schedule as ever, preceding AW23 Paris fashion week by nearly three months. Approximately 1,500 guests, including snowboarder Shawn White and Academy Award-winning actor Dustin Hoffman, packed the Wiltern Theatre, a colorful Art Deco landmark that opened in 1931.
Source: news.google.com