Intro for October 2, 2024

Dear Gossips,    

Paris Fashion Week has ended with gossip and speculation, naturally. A few days ago, Hedi Slimane presented his latest and, as it turns out, last collection for Celine via short film. The house has been super successful under Hedi’s creative direction. He joined in 2018 and in that time, even with the pandemic, Celine’s sales more than doubled after five years, making it the most profitable LVMH brand after Louis Vuitton and Dior. But it’s been rumoured for months that he and the conglomerate couldn’t come to terms during contract negotiations after his deal expired earlier this year. It was confirmed this morning that Hedi Slimane is indeed leaving Celine. 

So about his final collection – here’s the video of the presentation if/when you have time to watch but this is an example of the vibe: 

As many others have remarked, it’s giving… Chanel. And there happens to be a vacancy at Chanel as the fashion industry has waited for months now for them to announce a new creative director. Is Hedi Slimane leaving for Chanel? 

If that is indeed the case, it’ll be interesting to see how much space they’re willing to give him. Following the death of Karl Lagerfeld, it was Virginie Viard who took over at Chanel and remained there for five years until this past summer. Karl used to refer to Virginie as his “right hand and left hand” so her tenure at Chanel was really just an extension of Karl, only not quite Karl. Chanel continued to make money, because it’s Chanel, but it’s lost a lot of hype – nobody’s all that excited about Chanel, and while ownership of course wants to maintain the standards of the house and preserve its prestige, they also must assert its relevance going forward. Which is why they exited Virginie and have been searching for a replacement.

But will it be Hedi Slimane to take Chanel into a new era? He’s known to demand total control and, sometimes, total reinvention. For example, before Hedi, Celine used to be Céline – but when he came in he dropped the accent aigu and redesigned the logo. He’s also the reason we no longer say “Yves Saint Laurent” when referring to the brand; it’s now just Saint Laurent. 

If he really is the new creative director of Chanel, what will he overhaul and what will he keep? Or would Chanel ever really go with a designer like Hedi who wants to immediately put his signature on a house? Some people remain skeptical and they’re the ones who are looking at Hedi’s final Celine collection not as a hint that he’s going to Chanel but as a middle finger, with some wondering whether or not Hedi might have responded to a possible Chanel rejection with these looks, as if to say, look what you’re missing out on. 

Fashion weeks in Paris are done for 2024. By the time Haute Couture week happens in January, will a new creative director be installed at Chanel? If so, who will it be? 

Yours in gossip, 

Lainey