CELINE MENSWEAR SS27
Fashion has always been about desirability. Many will argue that it is status, appearances, or frivolity that drives the industry. However, the common denominator to all of the previously mentioned factors is, indeed, desire.
Wanting to possess an object or the ambition to belong to certain circles, all of these reflect desire. Far from only covering needs, fashion and clothes often cater to a wanting that is deeper than status.
Michael Rider’s Celine is the perfect proof of this. His clothes are refreshing, colorful, and perfectly desirable. Their tasteful simplicity are appealing the fashion consumer. His color combinations and stylistic compositions are filling the social media feeds of anyone remotely adjacent to the fashion circuit, and are the living proof that menswear does not have to be boring.
In the latest menswear collection of Celine, trousers vary in ranges that go from ultra-skinny, to very skinny, to balloon, to wide and ample. All are masterfully styled with corresponding upper pieces that comprise blazers, leather jackets, shirts, and colorful T-shirts or blouses.
The accessories are as delectable as the clothes, and they seem to perfectly express Michael Rider’s work at menswear Celine. These are delicate and elegant when it comes to loafers and shoes, but also intellectual and appealing when it comes to glasses and belts. “Intellectual” seems to be a recurring motif on the runway, as some of the models wear branded notebooks, pointing once more to the intellectualization that fashion has been experiencing since celebrities began wearing books as accessories.
When it comes to bags and headpieces, they can be as extravagant as you want, which makes this collection even more playful. There was also space for hype elements through fringed headbands, hobo pouches, and stones affixed to the forehead, while the necklaces from the collection are as extravagant as an oversized beaded necklace can be.
The clothes actually show Michael Rider’s obsession with finding perfection in each item. None of the pieces looked exactly alike, yet there was a strong sense of cohesiveness. That coherence went further than just following a trope or an urban tribe and adhering to it.
This speaks to the simplicity that fashion people seek. Nothing overly complicated, but rather simple clothes that everyone could wear, with that extra touch of quality and perfection that you would expect from Celine. Clothes from people, for people, which is somehow a very French thing to do.
That is perhaps what makes this collection so inexplicably appealing: it captures that effortless, stylish way of dressing that French people seem to embody so naturally. At the same time, it also speaks to a younger audience that focuses its efforts in the styling rather than thinking of entire outfits when purchasing.
“We make the characters we want to be,” said Rider after the show. And this pretty much sums up his collection. He is creating an archetype that is desirable, not exclusionary or tied to a specific tribe, but rather someone who desires to be well dressed and has a clear vision of who he wants to become.
WORDS:@edugilhurta