image: Celine
Hedi Slimane will take the helm of Céline, where he will oversee womenswear and menswear. He is to join the LVMH brand on February 1 and will “unveil his first fashion proposition for men and women next September during Paris Fashion Week,” according to WWD. Céline’s longtime creative director Phoebe Philo announced she would leave the LVMH-owned brand in December.
In addition to serving as creative director of womenswear, Slimane will launch a new menswear division, a fragrance offering, and couture. The notoriously hands-on creative will also take on the roles of artistic and image director, which will see him overseeing everything from the ad campaign imagery to the runway show music.
“I am particularly happy that Hedi is back within the LVMH Group and taking the creative reins of our Céline maison,” said Bernard Arnault, chairman and ceo of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, calling Slimane “one of the most talented designers of our time.
“I have been a great admirer of his work since we collaborated on Dior Homme, which he launched to global acclaim in the 2000s. His arrival at Céline reinforces the great ambitions that LVMH has for this maison. Hedi will oversee all creativity for both women’s and men’s fashion, but also for leather goods, accessories and fragrances. He will leverage his global vision and unique esthetic virtuosity in further building an iconic French maison.”
In April 2016, Yves Saint Laurent confirmed that creative director Slimane would step down from his role as creative director. Rumors have been swirling for months that Slimane, who joined Yves Saint Laurent in 2012, would leave the house following complications with his contract.
According to a statement from Kering at the time: “Since March 2012, under the creative helm of Hedi Slimane, the House has enjoyed a holistic reform that has brought back its utmost modernity and fashion authority, while keeping alive and respecting the original vision of Mr Saint Laurent. This repositioning has granted a new life and a new story to one of the most important French Couture Houses, with undisputed success.”
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