Hedi Slimane is leaving Celine. Having joined the Parisian fashion house in 2018 following his agenda-setting tenure at Saint Laurent, Slimane was responsible for completely revolutionising the French fashion house, immediately launching their first menswear line, followed by the introduction of the Haute Parfumerie and, most recently, a beauty line.

Slimane’s time at Celine saw the designer translate his eternal references distilled from his ongoing documentation of music and youth culture through Celine’s Parisian roots, realising a contemporary bourgeoise sensibility that pulled as much from French high society as today’s TikTok culture. While his Celine runway shows were high-energy, concert-esque productions, in recent seasons Slimane swapped physical presentations for cinematic self-directed films; from his South of France womenswear trilogy to his most recent menswear collection filmed at Holkham Hall in Norfolk. During his time at Celine, Slimane also established his Portrait of an Artist and Portrait of a Performer series, spotlighting talents such as Bob Dylan, Suzanne Lindon, Wiz Khalifa, Julian Casablancas, Kevin Parker and Jean-Luc Godard. As always, music has played an integral part in Slimane’s time at the house: FW23’s menswear collection was dedicated to visionary NYC duo Suicide; The Libertines, The Strokes, Iggy Pop and The Kills have all performed at afterparties; and Slimane invited the legendary James Chance to perform at his debut menswear show – an experience that will live long in our memory.

“Under his creative and artistic direction, Celine has experienced exceptional growth and established itself as an iconic French couture house,” said Celine in a statement. “The holistic vision of Hedi Slimane, his exigence and rigour have made it possible to redefine the codes of Celine whilst reaffirming its feminine and Parisian roots. He has also remarkably enriched new territories for the Maison such as the men’s silhouette, couture and Haute Parfumerie. The extraordinary journey taken together over the last seven years has made Celine a house with a formidable foundation for the future.”

It has not been announced where Slimane will go next, nor is it known who the next creative director of Celine will be – stay tuned.