Has Hedi Slimane already paved the way for his future after Celine?

It was one of the swiftest transitions in recent fashion history. On Wednesday, Celine confirmed months of speculation by announcing that Hedi Slimane was indeed stepping down as creative director of the French fashion house, only to reveal his successor just a few hours later. His immediate successor, Michael Rider, not only assumed control over the brand’s vision but also temporarily shifted the industry's gaze away from Slimane – a stark contrast to when the designer first joined the house.

When Slimane arrived at Celine in 2018, many were still mourning the designs of Phoebe Philo, who had recently departed the brand. During her tenure, Philo had cultivated a fiercely loyal following, affectionately known as 'Philophiles', who revered one of the few designers creating for women in all stages of life.

The fear that Slimane would erase every last trace of 'Philo-isms' at Celine was soon confirmed. Slimane, long known for his Peter Pan-like approach, forever chasing after lost boys and girls rather than their parents, was quick to wipe the brand’s social media accounts, then removed the accent from the now-defunct 'Céline' and followed it up by his first collection for Spring/Summer 2019.

For those who hoped Slimane would adhere to Philo's established codes, his debut served as a reminder that he always prioritised his own aesthetic above all. The designer unapologetically followed a pattern he had established during his time at Dior Homme and later at Saint Laurent, where he famously dropped the 'Yves' from the brand name. However, while his sharp, lean Rock’n’Roll aesthetic – sometimes bordering on debauchery – suited him well, and critics largely revised their initial scepticism of his vision for Saint Laurent, both fashion and the world had changed dramatically in the years when Slimane had turned his creative focus mainly to photography. Yet Slimane seemed unfazed by these shifts.

“In a single evening, he has blown up everything that Celine was, flushed it clean. His name might not be on the label, but in every other respect, the brand might as well be called Hedi Slimane," wrote journalist Robin Givhan for the Washington Post after his debut, capturing the near-universal criticism of a reintroduced aesthetic – including menswear – that had once been praised. Whether his first collection was mere provocation or if he took the criticism to heart remains unclear, but by the next season, Slimane had shifted focus from Los Angeles’s Rock’n’Roll scene, where he had been both visually and physically based for years, back to his hometown of Paris.

The Age of the Archive

This shift not only brought a new, publicly lauded style but also a version of Slimane that actually paid homage to the archive of Celine. However,t it wasn’t the recent archive that many expected. Instead, Slimane looked to the house's founder, Céline Vipiana. Suddenly, the much-maligned logo change was re-evaluated, as the original brand logo also omitted the accent, just as Slimane had done.

Finally, for Autumn/Winter 2019, Slimane made a surprising and long-awaited pivot, returning to the brand’s roots – long before its LVMH acquisition – and focusing on reinterpreting the look of Parisian bourgeoisie from the 1970s and 80s. Out went the micro-skirts, and in came culottes, while embellished mini dresses gave way to silk. And although he couldn’t quite part with his signature skinny jeans, they were now paired with capes, blazers, and shearling boots.

Following his first year at Celine came not only a global pandemic, which saw him largely abandon the runway in favour of video presentations in various locations – long after most designers had returned to traditional show formats – but also a blending of his newly discovered appreciation for bourgeois style with his remaining flair for rock glamour.

His vision, unlike Philo's, was aimed at a younger generation, perhaps best exemplified by his choice of muses – Philo had chosen the now-deceased writer Joan Didion, while Slimane turned to model Kaia Gerber and K-pop star Lisa from Blackpink. His direction fulfilled the hopes and promises made by LVMH upon his appointment.

As reported by Vogue, during LVMH’s annual financial meeting in January 2018, shortly after Slimane’s appointment, the goal for his tenure at Celine was made clear: 2 to 3 billion Euros in revenue, possibly more, within five years. At the time, Celine’s revenue was estimated to be between half a billion and one billion euros. Now, with sales nearing 2.5 billion Euros, Slimane has clearly met that target, helped in no small part by his introduction of new categories for the brand such as menswear, fragrance, and soon, beauty.

Under Slimane’s leadership, Celine grew into LVMH’s third-largest brand, trailing only Louis Vuitton and Dior. This raises the question of why Slimane’s six-year contract wasn’t extended.

Is Slimane Auditioning for Chanel?

There’s no definitive answer, but the fashion world loves speculation, especially in an era with an unusual number of creative vacancies. Dries Van Noten and Alberta Ferretti are seeking new creative heads, and rumours of imminent changes at Fendi, Margiela, and Gucci are hard to ignore. Whether Slimane has intentionally fuelled such rumours in recent seasons or not, his final collection for Celine looks more than ever like an audition for the most coveted – and currently available – position in fashion: the top spot at Chanel.

With his final collection for Spring/Summer 2025, presented just days ago via video, Slimane paid a nostalgic tribute to the refined elegance of the French summer of the 1960s. According to the show notes, the designer drew inspiration from Françoise Sagan's La Chamade and French style icons like Françoise Hardy and France Gall. Slimane reinterpreted this classic aesthetic with a range of timeless pieces, including pleated skirts, striped tops paired with sequinned skirts, and embroidered twin sets.

The collection’s strong reference to the early 1960s, when Coco Chanel’s designs became global symbols of elegance, was impossible to miss, with short tweed suits making an appearance. The Chanel reference were hard to ignore, and the comparison was inevitable, particularly with Slimane’s use of collarless jackets and floral motifs, reminiscent of Chanel’s iconic camellia, albeit with a Celine – or rather, Slimane – twist.

Rumours of Slimane joining the other storied fashion house that starts with a 'C' were instantly reignited. Upon closer inspection, the persistent rumours about his future at Chanel have been circulating for quite some time. When Karl Lagerfeld passed away in 2019, many thought it possible.

After all, Slimane was one of the few designers Lagerfeld openly acknowledged and paised. Lagerfeld even went so far as to radically alter his own appearance, slimming down dramatically to fit into Slimane’s famously narrow-cut silhouettes at Dior Homme. But it’s not just Lagerfeld’s weight loss to wear Slimane’s designs or the Chanel-esque collection at Celine that makes his future at the helm of the French luxury house seem plausible. It’s his obsessive attention to detail and need for creative control – something he and Lagerfeld shared. This was most evident in his role at Celine, where he not only designed the clothing as creative director but also oversaw every other decision as creative and image director, from campaign shoots to store design.

Ultimately, Slimane's future remains unknown for now, and since the departure of Virginie Viard, Chanel has relied on its in-house design team. Whether this will soon change remains to be seen, as Slimane could now be in a position to join the house. What is certain, however, is that while it's unlikely that there’ll any major rebranding or name changes at Chanel, the brand boasts an extensive archive – one that Slimane already seems to be very familiar with. Moreover, while tweed may not exactly be synonymous with the rock 'n' roll, if anyone could convince the crowd to trade leather for wool, it would most likely be Hedi Slimane.