After much speculation, at the beginning of October, it was officially confirmed that designer Hedi Slimane has parted ways with the Celine brand after seven years. However, many are questioning whether this departure stems from a strained relationship between the French designer and Celine’s CEO, Séverine Merle. Could BLACKPINK’s Lisa be one of the reasons behind this?
Most of us know that Lisa, the Thai beauty, has been Celine’s global ambassador since 2020. Over the years, her image has been closely associated with the French fashion house. However, in July 2024, fans were surprised when the idol became the global ambassador for Louis Vuitton, marking the end of her relationship with Celine.
Following this, the magazine Challenges highlighted several points of tension between Hedi Slimane and Séverine Merle, the CEO of Celine.
Specifically, according to some sources, Celine had initially planned to showcase a new collection at the La Gaîté Lyrique museum in Paris on July 3, 2024. However, the show was canceled due to riots in Paris. Even more surprisingly, Hedi Slimane was unaware of this, and all his efforts went down the drain.
Additionally, Hedi Slimane had poured his heart into launching Celine’s beauty line, hoping that his muse, Lisa, would be the face of the campaign. However, LVMH, Celine’s parent company, did not allow this to happen as they wanted Lisa to represent Guerlain’s beauty brand instead. This could have been the final straw leading to Hedi’s departure from Celine.
There are reports that Hedi Slimane plans to launch Celine’s beauty line in January 2025, with the hope that Lisa will be the face of the campaign.
Netizens’ reactions to the article:
- “It’s clear that Lisa was Hedi’s muse, and the claims by antis saying Lisa was ‘kicked out’ of Celine are baseless. LVMH simply didn’t want her to be the face of Celine’s beauty line.”
- “Lisa’s departure was the final push that led to Hedi’s decision to leave Celine.”
- “This is karma for Celine and the LVMH group.”
Less than 15 minutes after confirming Hedi Slimane’s departure, Celine announced his replacement – designer Michael Rider – hinting that Hedi’s exit had been planned for some time.
Hedi Slimane joined Celine as Artistic Director in February 2018, replacing Phoebe Philo. Previously, he was the Artistic Director of menswear at Yves Saint Laurent (now Saint Laurent). In 2000, he joined Dior Homme (Dior’s menswear line).
Hedi left Dior in 2007 and returned to Yves Saint Laurent in 2012 as Creative Director, where he brought significant innovations to the brand before departing in 2016.
Over the seven years with Celine, Hedi Slimane brought forth many collections imbued with his personal touch, sparking numerous debates among fashion enthusiasts.
Moreover, Celine under Hedi achieved impressive sales figures. The brand revealed that since Hedi Slimane’s tenure, sales have increased by 2.5 times. In 2024, Celine became an LVMH favorite, with colossal sales reaching $2.6 billion, surpassing Fendi and trailing only Louis Vuitton and Dior.
Fashion lovers are now buzzing with rumors that Hedi Slimane may soon be appointed as Artistic Director at Chanel. The creative director position at Chanel is currently one of the most discussed topics in the fashion world. Other names rumored to be in the running include John Galliano, Jeremy Scott, and Kim Jones.
Hedi Slimane and the late designer Karl Lagerfeld, who held the creative role at Chanel for 36 years, had a good relationship.
Celine’s Fall/Winter 2024 collection, Hedi Slimane’s final one at Celine, has been said to possess more of Chanel’s spirit than Chanel itself.