The Hedi Slimane-Celine man has cold hands. Or at least that's what one might surmise from this seventies-inspired clothing that saw models tucking their hands inside their coat or pant pockets. Surely it's intentional and something Slimane thinks looks cool but it's a stylistic choice that stands out and often times accentuates the cropped proportions of the clothing. For SS20, the LA-based designer drew a greater separation between his work at Saint Laurent and his work with Celine and that can seen by the heavy focus on tailoring and likely foreshadows what the viewing and buying public can expect to see from Slimane's promise to show Celine couture.

Hedi Slimane's first exclusively men's collection for Celine has arrived. The result was what you would expect from Slimane but since this is a brand new segment of Celine, without all the history and fanfare of a prior aesthetic like its womenswear has, it was not as jarring. In fact, it was quite commercial and that, friends, is exactly why the Arnaults gave Slimane carte-blanche at Celine. Their aim is to double, if not triple, sales at Celine in the next 3 to 4 years. Its sales are at an estimated 1 billion euros and with menswear predicted to outpace womenswear in terms of sales growth until 2022, Slimane's prominence and influence will, LVMH hopes, catapult Celine into the 2 or 3 billion euro sales arena.

Leather played a major role in this collection, evidenced by the multitude of moto-jackets and leather pants. Arguably, the biggest challenge with Celine under Slimane is that it's his aesthetic and it's incredibly similar to his aesthetic while he was at Saint Laurent and still is that aesthetic under its new designer, Anthony Vacarello. Take, for example, the baseball jacket bomber, it is an item that Slimane offered at Saint Laurent as part of its Permanent Collection and while the current Celine version is stylistically different in minute ways, it is, essentially, the same item. Most of the garments here are quite similar to things Slimane has made before. There were some looks that veered from  the established Slimane look, such as the looser suiting which was more 80s power suit than 2000s super skinny. This differing is where Celine can and probably expects to see sales growth, since the rest of the industry has figured out Slimane's formula and has been repeating it in varying iterations. Slimane's reputation and cool-factor will only take Celine so far; if the maison wants to realize its goals of becoming a multi-billion euro business, it has to become a leader in fashion once again, like Slimane was during his Dior Homme days and not just rest of his laurels by offering items that many other houses are offering, even if the idea originated with Slimane.

Hedi Slimane's debut at LVMH-owned Celine (sans accented-'e') is the most anticipated fashion debut this season (sorry, Riccardo!). Slimane himself is very polarizing, his stint at Saint Laurent, which he famously shortened by removing "Yves", constantly yielded much fervor on both sides - from the adorers to the critics. Nevertheless, he turned that house's fortunes around before departing and taking a break from fashion. Part of the reason why the changes at Saint Laurent were so heated is because YSL - the label and its namesake founder - are deeply beloved in France and in fashion.

Celine, on the other hand, is beloved by women who were drawn to the soft power tailoring of Slimane's predecessor, Phoebe Philo. While the changes in aesthetic and the spelling of the house name drew consternation among some. For the most part, the reaction was much more muted. As for his menswear, Slimane is starting fresh at Celine. The house has never offered a men's collection and though the aesthetic is very much in line with what one would expect from Slimane, it really is a blank slate for him and what he offered is exactly why he got this job.

For all the adjectives one could use to describe Hedi Slimane, one that would likely get universal approval is marketing genius. His collections are always commercial successes. His ability to create clothes and market them to a wide range of individuals is his greatest strength. That's why LVMH lured him away from Kering. They want to make Celine a power brand at LVMH; their aim is to make Celine a cash-cow like Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior are for the conglomerate.

He did just that with a debut that was full of attitude, high-markup leather jackets, bags, and, as the shownotes state, "couture accessories". (We forgot to mention that in addition to creating a men's atelier, Celine will also be offering haute couture in the future) The male models were the type that one expects to see: waifish, with barely an ounce of fat on them - some might say gaunt-looking. They wore various iterations of the leather jacket (tailored, double breasted, and motorcycle to name three), as well as cigarette pants, pointy booties, as well as eveningwear that offered plenty of glitz and glamour. It's not a revolutionary collection, in fact it was looked quite similar to what we've seen before at Slimane's Dior Homme and Saint Laurent. But Slimane's aesthetic is what people are after and that's what he gave men (and women - though the women's collection was vastly different than what Philo had offered and will likely rub some the wrong way).