Celine Homme showed their Winter 2024 collection through a dramatic short film directed by Hedi Slimane.
Celine Homme presented their Winter 2024 collection, “Symphonie Fantastique,”in an unexpected, off-season, cinematic short directed by its designer Hedi Slimane.
California’s Mojave Desert, the setting for the presentation, provides a stark contrast to sophisticated couture. The video begins with Celine-branded helicopters delivering a Celine-branded jukebox to the center of a deserted road. Rather than play the alternative rock music that normally accompanies Slimane’s shows, the jukebox plays a dramatic symphony. Black 60s Cadillacs drive models into the desert scene and they strut down the highway runway, one by one.
The symphony that plays for the duration of the short is the collection’s inspiration and namesake, “Symphonie Fantastique.” At eleven years old, Slimane discovered and became enamored by the symphony. According to Celine, a young Hector Berlioz wrote the musical drama in 1830 about his love and obsession with English actress Harriet Smithson.
Perhaps Slimane resonates with the symphony’s motif of obsession on account of his obsession with tailoring. The show notes emphasize the return of tailoring, in Slimane’s “pure sartorial tradition.” Slimane revisits the ‘I’ line silhouette in frock coats, hand-embroidered waistcoats, and three-button suits. Each look is cut with flawless precision from the most luxurious fabrics, like silk, cashmere, and vicuna. Black reigns supreme.
Leonard Bernstein, composer subject of the 2023 film Maestro, described “Symphonie Fantastique” as the first psychedelic symphony ever composed, according to Celine. Berlioz composed his psychedelic masterpiece one hundred thirty years before the Beatles popularized acid rock.
The collection airs the sound of the psychedelic 1960s and 70s. Models wear pinstripe pea coats and flair pants. Motorcycle jackets with silver hardware appear in cropped hemlines, reminiscent of the 60s silhouette. Mod accessories like wide-brimmed hats and the oversized square sunglasses present throughout also evoke the era’s rockers. The most eye-catching 60s references are the sparkling coats in sequin and crystal that shine like a disco ball in the desert.
According to Celine, Berlioz defined his “Symphonie Fantastique” as an “immense instrumental composition of a new genre.” The symphony’s modernity and specialization of orchestration shocked Romantic period critics.
Slimane’s Celine similarly stunned critics upon his takeover of the brand from Phoebe Philo in 2018. He removed the original accent in “Céline” and critics pointed out his altering of the brand’s DNA.
Slimane’s metamorphosis of the brand was intentional. In his first interview after joining Celine, he told Le Figaro, “We arrive then with our own stories, our own culture, a personal semantic that is different from the ones of houses in which we create.”
This collection and its presentation are deeply representative of Slimane’s culture. Music, especially alternative rock music, is central to Slimane’s collections and runway shows. “Symphonie Fantastique” being the inspiration for the collection speaks to his passion for music. This particular song embodies his tendency to subvert the status quo. The collection’s distinguished tailoring shows off his own strength and background in the craft. The Slimane-directed film format for the presentation addresses his film and photography career. Even the setting of the Mojave Desert, just north of LA, acknowledges his affection for LA, the city that ignited his love of alternative rock music.
In Celine Homme’s Winter 2024 presentation, everything feels intentional. The video ends with the sun setting and the jukebox rising in flames. Flaunting his comprehensive creativity through both the film and clothing, Slimane leaves his fans guessing his next move.
All images courtesy of Celine.
