Newly appointed creative director at Celine, Hedi Slimane, revealed his first collection for the luxury label on Friday. In what was arguably the most anticipated —and controversial— show of Fashion Week.
Slimane’s show was met with a lambasting from the fashion community. With critics labelling the collection “narcissistic”, “tone-deaf” and a “big fuck you to women.”
Business of Fashion accused Slimane’s show as being “a gust of toxic masculinity”. Whilst Hollywood Reporter went as far as comparing Slimane to the Donald Trump of the fashion industry.
Hedi Slimane has hit back at those who criticised his debut show for Celine. Saying that critics accusing him of misogyny for showcasing women in short skirts were “conservative” and “puritanical”. Slimane has also suggested that there was a homophobic undertone to the critique he is facing.
In an interview with “5 Minutes de Mode by Loïc Prigent, the designer replied to the backlash, stating:
“It’s always very jarring and I always feel like people are talking about someone else. Besides, the spirit of the show was light and joyful, but lightness and insouciance are being called into question these days. I’ve already been through this at Saint Laurent. You’re dealing with politics, conflicts of interest, cliques, a predictable attitude, but also staggering exaggerations of conservatism and puritanism, Violence is a reflection of our time – the rabble-rousing spirit of social networks, despite the fact that they are a formidable community tool. There are no longer any limits, hatred is amplified and takes over.”
He then continued to address the criticisms of the shortness of the garments:
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“Does this mean women are no longer free to wear miniskirts if they wish? The comparisons to Trump are opportunistic, rather bold and fairly comical, just because the young women in my show are liberated and carefree. They are free to dress as they see fit,”
He also suggested that his criticisms were laced with homophobia:
“For some in America, I also have the poor taste of being a man who is succeeding a woman. You could read into that a subtext of latent homophobia that is quite surprising. Is a man drawing women’s collections an issue?”
Slimane’s ended his statement on a positive note, simply stating “Above all, this crystallizes a truly French spirit of anti-conformity and freedom at Celine.”
