On "The Dancing Kid", Hedi Slimane's latest collection for Celine

times may be weird these days, but fashion weeks are still continuing around the world, now taking on a primarily digital form. for hedi slimane's fourth season of menswear at celine,  this venture into the digital landscape meant channeling the internet's latest trend - tiktok. In teaser videos released on the brand's instagram stories a couple days before the official release of the show, several famous young male tiktokers filmed themselves in what were presumably looks from the show, leading many to guess that tiktok would be utilized in some way for the rollout of the show. sure enough, a couple days later this suspicion would come true, with celine releasing short videos of each look on tiktok. 

​each tiktok video was actually a clip taken from a full-length runway video of drone footage filmed at a deserted racetrack in france. this made the tiktok rollout, in my opinion, fall flat. if celine wanted to make a splash on tiktok with this collection, they should have given a truckload of e boy tiktokers the looks and had them film their own videos. however, the runway video format was a better way to keep the feeling of a traditional runway show, though noticeably lacking a crowd, but in turn taking advantage by staging the show at a remote formula one track. the full, 12-minute show can be seen Below.

BUT THAT'S ENOUGH ABOUT THE SETTING AND ROLLOUT, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR MENSWEAR DESIGNERS OF A GENERATION, WITH AN ALMOST CULT-LIKE FOLLOWING, AND ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR WOMEN'S LUXURY BRANDS OF THE LAST DECADE, FOLLOWING ITS REJUVENATION BY PHOEBE PHILO. SPOILER ALERT: THE MOST LOYAL FANS OF BOTH WERE EQUALLY DISAPPOINTED (ENRAGED?) BY THIS COLLECTION. BUT THESE ARE BIASED OPINIONS, ARE THE CLOTHES ACTUALLY BAD OR IS THIS MERELY THE RESULT OF PEOPLE UNWILLING TO ACCEPT A NEW DIRECTION FOR A DESIGNER THAT HAS MOSTLY STAYED IN THE SAME LANE FOR THE PAST 20 YEARS? I THINK ITS MORE OF THE LATTER.

AT FIRST I WASN'T A FAN. I, LIKE THOSE DIE HARD HEDI FANS, MISSED THE LACK OF SKINNY, GLAM-ROCKER SUITING SLIMANE HAS MADE HIS HALLMARK FOR THE PAST TWO DECADES, DISAPPOINTED IN HIM FOR INSTEAD CO-OPTING THE INCREDIBLY HOT TREND OF THE ANTI-AESTHETIC. AT FIRST, I FELT AS THOUGH IT WAS A REACH FOR SLIMANE, AND EVEN MORE SO FOR CELINE, A BRAND BEST KNOWN FOR ITS VERY WEARABLE BUT DECIDEDLY LUXE AND CHIC BASICS. THIS COLLECTION WAS ANYTHING BUT THAT, AND ONLY SLIGHTLY CLOSER TO SLIMANE'S SIGNATURE HEROIN-CHIC AESTHETIC. BUT THEN I WENT TO VOGUE RUNWAY, REMOVING THE ANNOYINGLY CATCHY REMIX OF 'THEY CALL ME TIAGO' AND THE TIKTOK OVERLAY TO GET A MORE PURE SENSE OF THE GARMENTS AND SILHOUETTES.

AND IT WASN'T that BAD. HERE'S A FEW of my favorite looks.

slimane described the show as “a candid portrait of a generation that took advantage of the confinement to assert itself and emancipate itself creatively.” while there were some similarities to slimane's ss16 collection for saint laurent, titled "surf sound", this collection focused less on a romanticization of west coast rocker grunge and more on "E-boys and current skate culture”. the grunge references, and parallels to "surf sound" are there, but in a different context. the 'zoomer' generation doesn't know about all the intricate subcultures of past generations; and they don't care. the codes have already been cracked and the latest generation is more than happy to plug them into the equation how they see fit. it's less about conforming to a look or a trend and more about personal style and individual pieces. will gen-z now flock to celine for luxe renditions of their thrift store finds? Probably not, but their style will almost certainly be co-opted by the luxury consumer which has already proven to be a fan of the anti-aesthetic. 

putting aside the botched tik tok rollout, using the youngest generation as a muse is what makes this collection successful in my mind. while at first i thought hedi was making a reach here, abandoning his previous obsession with skinny young rockers in order to adapt to the current trends, upon closer inspection, it became clear hedi was still taking inspiration from young rockers; they've just taken on a new form. 2016's "surf sound" collection is enough proof that this kind of style is not outside of hedi's universe and, moreover, this collection is simply highlighting the newest rockstars. whether you love them or hate them, tik tok e-boys and are just as culturally relevant now as kurt cobain (the obvious muse of "surf sound") ever was. and the resurgence of grunge in the middle of the last decade was merely a nostalgic trend. With "The dancing kid - a teenage romance", hedi is tapping into the ethos of the current moment. 

now is not a time to reflect on past trends. nor is it a time to lament for hedi's days of heroin-chic at dior, or saint laurent, or wish he would make a menswear equivalent at celine of what phoebe philo did. now is the time to upend our expectations of luxury fashion. the world is changing and to expect hedi not to change with the times is to sell him short of what an artist should be. ROCK ON HEDI. ROCK ON E BOYS. ROCK ON CELINE. HAHA.

SPECIAL SHOUTOUT TO @RICCARDORAM ON IG FOR INSPIRING ME TO WRITE THIS WITH HIS EARLY-HEDI DICKRIDING AND UNFOUNDED HATRED ON THIS COLLECTION FOR NOT BEING "LUXURY" ENOUGH FOR HIS TERRIBLE TASTE. Thanks for reading!