Just imagine how it feels to step into the shoes of Hedi Slimane and Phoebe Philo, two of the most revolutionary and influential designers of this century. Michael Rider took on this daunting test at his first show for Celine today. The internet commentariat was already well into parsing the comparisons as his debut walked: the come-back of skinny Slimane legs (for women and men!), the echoes of the Philo-cut big-shoulder, narrow-torso tailoring, the way she tied a bourgeois silk scarf bandana-wise.
Oh, and wasn’t there something preppy Ralph-Lauren-ish going on in all those oversized rugby shirts, old-school ties, the chic American minimalist evening dresses and the odd straw hat?
This all makes perfect sense when you know that Rider has come to the fore with an industry pedigree he’s accumulated from working for Nicolas Ghesquière in his great years at Balenciaga, with Celine (during Philo’s most electric period), and at Ralph Lauren (where his last role was as creative director of Polo Ralph Lauren). He explained his personal outlook on the relevance of Celine in the last half of this turbulent decade: “I hope people want things that last,” he said backstage. “I don’t think things that last have to feel not exciting. And I think when those two things meet, that’s kind of the place I love things, that you keep and that you can be yourself in. And that are quality.”
A beautiful coat is a beautiful coat. There were many of them: camel, ivory, black, plus multiple iterations of the jacket, in grass green, scarlet, beige, black. Taken away from their runway layerings, “there are things that can be worn in lots of different ways,” Rider said. Spoken like a designer with a true American sportswear mentality.
The idea of timelessness and heirloom dressing are somehow in sync with a strife-filled time when certainties are reassuring. In this context, Celine with its Parisian bourgeois silk scarves and ladylike accessories—dating back to the mid-century (it started as a children’s shoe store)—makes perfect source material for Rider to explore. For an American like him, the results might easily be tagged as “preppy.” In France, however, it’s always been known as BCBG (Bon Chic Bon Genre), and in England, well, the 2020s equivalents would be the descendents of the 1980s Sloane Rangers. Old-school dress codes are on the rise all over fashion.
Rider integrated Celine silk scarves into dress necklines. Charm bracelets became exaggerated piled-on necklaces. Tight argyle sweaters were sported. Young men seemed to don their dad’s old suits and ties, or slouch on fishing jackets, looking like a new generation of rakish dandies.
As for the shoes he is filling? Rider was clearly demonstrating respect for the greats of Celine, with a nod to his own years at Ralph; quiet continuity, not rock-the-boat rupture may be the name of the game for a house that’s thrived on Hedi Slimane’s pared-down classic pieces for years. But then again, when it came to actual footwear, something of Rider’s own was happening.
Soft, glove-like, foot-hugging jazz-pumps or tight, slick wrestling-boot high-tops landed the proportions in a way that owed nothing to the past order of things. It was one of those notes which succeed in being odd and off enough to cause a sudden rethink amongst those of an avant-garde mentality. Wholesome is all very nice, but a little fashion sickness is always welcome.
