A cube glides down the runway, its four sides draped in dramatic red curtains. As the curtains slowly rise, they unveil a metal and light contraption holding a single model, seated and awaiting his cue to “step out of the box.” Dressed in a sparkling suit encrusted with diamanté, he evokes the image of David Bowie’s character Thomas Jerome Newton from Nicolas Roeg’s 1976 film ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth,’ who is depicted absorbing American culture through multiple screens simultaneously. This nostalgic style, characterized by soft long hair with bangs and high-waisted tapered trousers that flare below the knee, transported us back to that era.
Fashion statements included T-shirts with striking texts and exquisitely woven straw bags bearing phrases like ‘My Own Worst Enemy’ and ‘I Have Nostalgia for Things I Probably Have Never Known.’ These seemed like personal declarations from Celine’s artistic director Hedi Slimane himself, almost confessional in nature. After all, aren’t we all a bit guilty of such sentiments? Fashion often clings to nostalgia for what it doesn’t know, drawing more from the past than from the present or any future aspirations. Here, at least, it is transparent.
The boys showcased an alluring ambiguity, presenting one of the most sophisticated interpretations of androgynous allure seen to date. The fabrics and styles echoed the aspirations of every budding rockstar, featuring leopard prints, python textures, leather, denim, and impeccably tailored new wave suits. Yet, as with all of Slimane’s work, it never crossed into mere imitation; his models exuded genuine coolness, leaving the audience captivated.
When Nicolas Roeg cast David Bowie as the extraterrestrial, he remarked, “I didn’t want an actor, but someone who had the possibility of being unique.” This sentiment could easily apply to the selection of Slimane as Artistic Director at Celine, which is precisely why we remain fascinated by him.