By The New York Times (Europe) | Created at 2024-10-02 17:09:11 | Updated at 2024-10-02 20:30:09
4 hours ago
Style|The Whiplash of a Major Fashion World Shake-up
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/02/style/michael-rider-celine-artistic-director.html
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Celine shocked the industry by announcing that Hedi Slimane, its top designer, is leaving. Hours later, it surprised many again by naming his replacement.
Oct. 2, 2024, 12:06 p.m. ET
In one of the swiftest rounds of fashion musical chairs in recent memory, Celine announced on Wednesday that Hedi Slimane would be leaving his position as the label’s artistic director, but his post wasn’t vacant for long. Hours later, the brand named Mr. Slimane’s replacement: Michael Rider, a former design director at Celine who most recently oversaw Polo Ralph Lauren’s women’s wear.
“I am delighted to welcome Michael back to Celine, a maison that he knows intimately,” Séverine Merle, Celine’s chief executive, said in a statement. “Michael’s vision, creative talent, together with his genuine nature and strong connection to Celine’s heritage make him a natural choice to continue to build a long-lasting success for the maison.”
The appointment will thrust Mr. Rider, who is in his 40s and has mostly worked behind the scenes since graduating from Brown University, into the spotlight. Though Celine, which is owned by LVMH, is relatively small compared to other brands in the luxury conglomerate’s portfolio, like Dior and Louis Vuitton, it is known for commanding attention, drawing strong opinions and being a popular label among celebrities.
Mr. Rider’s move to Celine is a sort of Parisian homecoming: Starting in 2008, he spent a decade as the brand’s design director, a job he began under Phoebe Philo, Celine’s former artistic director. Though Mr. Rider’s appointment makes him one of the rare American designers leading brands owned by LVMH, the world’s largest luxury company, he is not the first American to head the nearly 80-year-old French brand: Michael Kors oversaw design at Celine from 1997 to 2004.
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Since 2018, Mr. Rider has helped push Ralph Lauren’s Polo label back into the luxury space through collections mixing luxurious suede overcoats and leather handbags with timeworn hallmarks like madras sundresses and brass-button blazers. Whether Mr. Rider will bring this distinctly American sensibility to Celine remains to be seen, but certainly his work for Polo has differed greatly from Mr. Slimane’s for Celine.
