Celine Fall Winter 2024-25 Men Fashion Show

Hedi Slimane, Celine’s artistic and image director, has once again dialed up the drama with the Fall Winter 2024-2025 Menswear collection. This time, he unveiled his vision through a mesmerizing 14-minute film, primarily shot in the stark yet captivating Mojave Desert, all set to the evocative strains of Hector Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantastique.”

Echoing the grandeur of a Francis Ford Coppola epic, Slimane’s cinematic approach draws parallels with the recent premiere of Coppola’s “Megalopolis” at Cannes. However, Slimane was already channeling this cinematic vibe earlier in the year as he meticulously crafted his fall 2024 menswear collection.

The film is a visual and auditory feast, combining Slimane’s melancholic aesthetic with Berlioz’s grand, romantic music, a piece that has fascinated him since childhood. The collection unfolds in a palette of black, white, and gray, punctuated with flashes of gold and silver, enhancing the dramatic narrative of the film.

In his self-described “return” to sartorial tailoring, Slimane infuses his signature whippet-thin silhouettes with a more formal, gentlemanly edge, a nod to his decades-long influence on menswear. These designs, though sharply tailored and precise, are crafted for the lean and rangy, embodying a youthful freshness despite the somber tone of the presentation.

The film features a suite of black helicopters reminiscent of “Apocalypse Now,” soaring over the desert. However, these helicopters are not harbingers of war but rather a dramatic entrance for a Celine-branded jukebox, delivered to a desolate road. This stark imagery is soon complemented by a motorcade of black 1960s Cadillacs and models striding down the road, many adorned in black, wide-brimmed preacher’s hats.

Despite the funereal mood, the collection brims with youthful energy. Jackets are lean and cropped, with shrunken sleeves that sit just above the wrist. Shirts feature petite white collars, and ties are either skinny or stringy, tied into narrow bows. Slimane draws inspiration from 1960s tailoring and 19th-century Anglomania, resulting in frock coats, three-button suits, and hand-embroidered waistcoats in luxurious materials like silk, cashmere, and vicuña.

While the detailed craftsmanship is challenging to appreciate fully on film, Slimane’s influence on contemporary menswear remains undeniable. True to his contrarian nature, he opts to present his collections long after the traditional European show weeks, maintaining a unique position in the fashion calendar.

Available in stores from mid-July, the collection also holds some surprising elements. Lightning bolts of metallic details, such as glittering gold and silver-studded coats, break the somber desert tableau, while a dark hooded cape covered in black paillettes adds a touch of romanticism and artistry, perfect for the star ready to take his bow.

In sum, Slimane’s latest for Celine is not just a collection but a cinematic experience, blending fashion, film, and music into a cohesive, dramatic statement.