It’s official: Hedi Slimane is exiting Celine after seven years, owner LVMH confirmed in a statement.
During his tenure, the star designer known for his trademark skinny silhouette has transformed Celine, adding menswear for the first time in the brand’s 79-year history, as well as expanding into high perfume and beauty. In womenswear, Slimane reconnected Celine to its historic identity as a purveyor of leather goods that incarnate Parisian bourgeois style, helping to more than double annual sales to €2.5 billion, according to analyst estimates. (LVMH does not report performance by brand).
”Celine has experienced exceptional growth and established itself as an iconic French couture house,” LVMH said in a statement. “The holistic vision of Hedi Slimane, his exigence and rigour have made it possible to redefine the codes of Celine whilst reaffirming its feminine and Parisian roots.”
Despite Celine’s success, sources say Slimane had been locked in a thorny contract negotiations with LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault for months before ultimately exiting the label. While Arnault has long recognised the power of Slimane’s ultra-coherent, relatable touch for styling, branding, merchandising and stores, the partnership appears to have reached its limits amid a sharp luxury market slowdown.
While Slimane is widely regarded as an exceptional talent, he commands a high salary in addition to near total control over how hefty budgets are deployed across product development and communications.
Design teams regularly ferry sprawling collections of finished designs to Slimane’s South of France hideaway, where Slimane “shops” for favourite items and scraps the rest. Meanwhile, months and countless millions have been spent shooting the designer’s collection videos, which are typically dropped online without warning, limiting coverage by press and influencers.
Slimane’s commercially potent vision was worth the expense as it drove the business to new heights. But as LVMH tightens its belt in a slowing market, it may have been harder to stomach.
Now, LVMH will need to name a new designer to animate Celine’s collections without disrupting the momentum Slimane brought to the brand. Alaïa’s creative director Pieter Mulier maintains close ties to the Arnault family (notably first daughter Delphine) since his tenure working under Raf Simons at Dior, and is likely in the running. Michael Rider, a top design deputy during Phoebe Philo’s tenure at Celine who recently left a role overseeing womenswear for Ralph Lauren, is another leading candidate, according to market reports.
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