Celine unveils Drone 'n' Roll Baie des Anges spring collection in Nice

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Dec 4, 2021

Celine’s creative director Hedi Slimane unveiled the house’s latest women’s collection on Friday afternoon, via a fast-action video shot entirely in the Baie des Anges, the huge bay of Nice.

 
Leave it to Slimane to do things exactly in his own way, as he rebranded the location into a Celine stage set. Placing the brand name on the main cupola of the Hotel Negresco, the Cote d’Azur’s most famous inn; and opening the 12-minute video with a giant liner rebranded as Celine. Moreover, in a busy day for the house, Mr Porter revealed a brand-new Celine menswear collection – focused on punchy rave-party gear.
 
In the women’s show video, black and white Celine flags flew on poles along the Promenade des Anglais where the cast of this spring/summer 2021 collection marched.

A cunning blend of jaunty Parisian style; Med' mode and kicky rich-girl rock-'n'-roll, all shot by drone cameras dipping and diving from morning to sunset. Starring Kaia Gerber, Suzanne Lindon, Lalisa Manoban and Diana Silvers, the video was shot back in October to better to capture the dazzling light of Le Grand Bleu, as the French call the Mediterranean.
 
Pre-show, the house sent sleek friends and editors new 12-sided cylindrical metallic travel pouches, inside of which came the new Reptile scent, part of what it calls its 'Parfurmerie de Haute Voyage' – or High-End Perfume Travel.

 
And there are few more famous destinations for the sophisticated traveler than Nice, especially in this video which included images of the Villa Massena Museum and local casino, scene of Jacques Demy's 1963 cult movie, La Baie des Anges.
 
Back then Jeanne Moreau was the gambler’s seductive partner in the film, this season it’s Kaia Gerber, both of them vamping in nocturnal black and white.  
 
Slimane last took a post-show bow in February 2020, after a staging a sibylline chic collection that subverted bourgeois style. Since the pandemic kicked in, he has presented just video collections, ranging around historic French locations from Chambord castle to Chateau de Vaux-Le-Vicomte.
 
Fully in synch with his take on the Celine DNA, Slimane managed to disrupt classical bourgeois garments – mannish striped shirts; straw boaters or fedoras; crew-neck sailor’s tops or check college-girl jackets – into a faintly subversive blend.  Mingling in street style from camouflage parkas to hoodies, bearing the tag 'Celine 16 Paris', in reference to the French capital’s most tony arrondissement.

 
After initially struggling to gain traction at Celine, as die-hard fans of his predecessor Phoebe Philo deserted the brand, Slimane has found his stride, and his baroque double 'C' logo and clasps have become increasingly ubiquitous in hipper circles. The double 'C' evident in a series of great new bags swinging from shoulders.
 
A collection unveiled on the same day as Mr Porter revealed a new Celine menswear capsule entitled Cosmic Cruiser. Clubbing and rave party gear from Celine, which Mr Porter boasts can be delivered within 24 hours in a 180 countries. Symbolizing a brand that is clearly gaining momentum.

All the time, the drone camera sweeping around the bay, before rising high above Nice’s observatory, Kaia captured in a moody moment at the railing. Later, as the sun drifts below the horizon, models traipse Seven Seals-style along the top of Nice’s port pier, while giant stone statues gaze proudly on. Hedi may no longer be the revolutionary rock tailor of his youth, but when it comes to show videos, few can hold a candle.

 
Above all there is the sense of French élan about his collections, of a Parisian beauty who doesn’t have to try hard, as she is just naturally stylish. Mixing up goody-girl knotted blouses with red leather bombers, or ladylike mohair cardigans with flared worn jeans. Everything feels effortless.
 
As sunset approached; a half-dozen gals dressed inside a wood-paneled club room for a fine soirée, wearing open-backed sequined cocktails, their hair cut into the shoulder-length bobs, courtesy of stylist Esther Langham. The video switching briefly to black and white, as the cast descended to a nighttime beach.

All ending with a final tagline – A ma mere; to my mother. Bet she must be proud.