My Depression Playlist Changed My Mind About Celine

Published on SCAD Manor on 5.4.22

Graphic by Fai McCurdy
Words by Nicholson Baird

At my core, I am a Phoebe Philo fan. So it goes without saying that upon her departure from Céline (now, Celine, without the accent) in 2018, I was not exactly thrilled about Hedi Slimane’s vision for the brand. While Slimane’s version of Celine is in no way comparable to the tenure of Philo’s, over the past three years, I have garnered a slow appreciation for the uber-cool Parisian style that Slimane has cultivated. My tipping point for becoming a Hedi Celine fan has to have been due to the brand’s newest ambassadors and ultra-sad girlies, Gracie Abrams and Clairo.

I guess that I was never suspecting that major players from my depression playlist on Spotify would be the fresh faces for one of Paris’ biggest fashion houses, but upon further evaluation, it is a brilliant marketing tool. Since early in Slimane’s time at Celine, he has pushed collections that revolve around Gen-Z — often referencing Tiktok styles on the runway. Choosing two young indie-pop singer-songwriters feels like the perfect fit for a company appealing to a younger audience.

I first noticed Abrams wearing Celine after falling upon a photo of her from her This is What It Feels Like Tour in Chicago. The branding was a minimal logo on the pocket of a button-up shirt, a detail I most likely would have never noticed had I not purchased the same one about a month prior. So naturally, I got all ramped up. After more of a deep dive, I noticed that Abrams had been wearing Celine almost exclusively at all of her shows. All the looks were simple; cool-girl suits, bralettes worn under undone button-ups, trousers worn with baby-sized cardigans — all worn discreetly, without an ad or even an Instagram tag. Abrams had not posted anything related to Celine until over halfway through her tour, with an Instagram post promoting the brand’s Cuir Triomphe line of handbags.

Clairo’s involvement with the brand was a little plainer in sight, posting a thank you to Celine on Instagram for dressing her and her band at the beginning of her Sling Tour. Her tour wardrobe was quite similar to that of Abrams; a tailored jacket, a white tee-shirt, and a pair of jeans, all unbranded. The way that Celine dressed both Abrams and Clairo was nonchalant, an endorsement without any traditional fashion photography or large campaigns.

After mulling it over a bit, it’s clear that Celine is marketing toward a generation that has redefined how advertisements and endorsements are consumed. When thinking of celebrity endorsements, Harry Styles for Gucci, Kristen Stewart for Chanel, and Kim Kardashian for Balenciaga all come to mind. These celebrities are all household names plastered in ads for their respective brands, from magazines to billboards to red carpet looks. Celine has gone the ultimate French way; too cool to care. They have picked relatively niche younger artists who post enough to make the clothing aspirational but not so much as to shove an endorsement in the faces of their fans.

So, now I like Celine. Not necessarily with the feral passion that I did when Philo was Creative Director, but after the soft persuasion of Abrams and Clairo, I’ve concluded that Slimane is making clothes for cool girls who are slightly mysterious and definitely sad. Celebrity endorsements are tricky; there needs to be a symbiotic relationship between a brand and their ambassador, as well as a natural fit with one another’s aesthetics. Celine is finding an audience in Gen-Z — appealing to the children of the internet in a discreet manner that could redefine the way fashion houses use the power of celebrity.

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My Depression Playlist Changed My Mind About Celine

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