Monthly product drops are fast becoming a luxury business standard, and Celine is falling into line: the initial tranche of Hedi Slimane’s bag designs will go on sale today, a full four weeks before his initial clothes designs hit the shop floor.
The Frenchman has drip-fed that the”Le 16″ design, a ladylike, vintage-feel handbag named following the new atelier location on 16 Rue Vivienne, Paris, in the collective consciousness via the honed elbows of a select few — Lady Gaga and Angelina Jolie have been spotted toting it in the last few weeks — but it’s currently available for public consumption.
Le 16 is joined by the”Triomphe”, a cross-body handbag with a dual C grip taken from the 1973 house emblem, itself inspired by the Parisian landmark L’Arc de Triomph, along with the”C”, motivated from the Seventies-era Celine logo close of a capitalised letter C with a quilted surface that was formerly a touch of Celine’s bags in the Eighties. All 3 bags are available in myriad color ways and accessible in sixteen shops — such as London’s Mount Street store — as of Monday.
Angelina Jolie conveys celine‘s Le 16 in Los Angeles.
Adopting a drop strategy is something of a volte-face for the brand. Celine under Phoebe Philo was as famous for its luddite approach to commerce because it was for its minimalist aesthetic. Philo once posited the idea that digital and luxury were incompatible worlds:”I very much like the thought that shoppers encounter a Céline product in a Céline store” The brand only launched its ecommerce site in December 2017. However, as Slimane attempts to shape the 73-year-old French home in his own picture, it appears a new selling tactic is demanded. He knows the way to market trend. In 2015, Kering revealed that revenue at Saint Laurent had doubled in the three decades since Slimane became creative director. Accessories became the cornerstone of the company: 66 per cent was represented by leather products and shoes.
