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Celine Shows New Music Talent
Celine’s creative director discusses the power of the right soundtrack choice and how “mainstream culture leaves no chance for alternative voices”.
CELINE SHOWS DEFINED BY NEW MUSIC TALENT
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“It’s purely intuitive, I guess,” replies Hedi Slimane when asked what draws him to a piece of music. “I just immediately recognise the sound that reflects the character I want to depict in a show and that could give a rhythm for a specific allure and walk for the models.” If you know anything about Celine’s artistic, creative and image director, you’ll know his lean tailoring, his ability to cause a ruckus with minor typographic changes (removing ‘Yves’ from Saint Laurent’s ready-to-wear branding, dropping the accent on the ‘e’ from the former Céline logo to better resemble the original ’60s design) and, of course, his rock music reveries.
written by Divya Bala, taken from Vogue UK online https://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/article/hedi-slimane-soundtrack-catwalk
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Music is the cornerstone of Slimane’s aesthetic — his collections are a dedication of sorts to the musicians he admires; pseudo stage wardrobes set to the soundtrack of distorted guitars and gravelly vocals. “Without getting the music right, I cannot style the show, which can be very frustrating,” explains the designer and photographer. “The soundtrack and cast are what define the styling, its degree of credibility, its authenticity. What you hear and what you see are all part of one thing, one world as a whole.” “In a way, I almost illustrate the sound, just like in a film or a music video,” he continues. “Sometimes it’s really hard and I only get the right track a week before the show, and the entire direction of the show shifts accordingly.” Throughout the many stages of Slimane’s career, music has been a constant. From his youth frequenting Paris’s nightlife institutions such as Le Palace and Les Bains Douches to his days as creative director of Dior Homme (2000 to 2007) dressing legends such as David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. In 2005, Slimane published a book of his photographs of Pete Doherty and the British music scene entitled London: Birth of a Cult.
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Bolt, who counts Iggy Pop as a fan and whose single All She Wants will be released on 21 April, says she had never met nor worked with someone as “serious and meticulous” as Slimane. “I got frustrated many times in the process. He would hear
For his first show for the house, he collaborated with Marlon Magnée and Sacha Got of La Femme on a 20-minute composition featuring vocals by model Grace Hartzel. Then for autumn/winter 2020, Slimane scrapped his intended soundtrack just two weeks before the show in favour of the breakout single from Amélie Rousseaux — better known by her stage name Sofia Bolt — after one of his team attended an informal garage gig she organised in her adopted hometown of Los Angeles.
And during his tenure at Saint Laurent (2012 to 2016), he launched the Music Project — a campaign starring music icons including Joni Mitchell, Marilyn Manson and Courtney Love, all photographed by Slimane himself. Since his 2018 appointment at Celine, Slimane has chosen to spotlight French underground music.
Celine Shows New Music Talent
music Celine’s ongoing campaign Portrait of a Performer series shot by Slimane — concurs: “In the music industry, it’s very rare to get opportunities like the one I did, that we did,” he says. “There is this stupid [stigma] around musicians ‘selling out’. We are a small band, Hedi Slimane benefits nothing from us. As far as I know, he asked because he’s a music geek like us. And that’s what the world needs — more geeks.” So why is scouting and supporting emerging musicians such an intrinsic part of Slimane’s work? “This is the whole point for me,” Slimane explains. “To use my position to promote, to give a visible stage to alternative music, or artists. I’ve been doing this for almost 20 years.”
For Paris-based band Oracle Sisters, whose song I’m You was used for an online Celine campaign, working with Slimane has led to a multitude of opportunities. When the designer came across the band at a gig at the Paris venue Le Pop-Up du Label, lead singer and guitarist Lewis Lazar admits to being “a little sceptical at first” — thinking it to be a case of “a brand using bands to seem relevant”. “But they’ve been incredibly generous and consistent, using our songs, inviting us to things, lending us clothes… Through them, we have a W Magazine feature with the photographer Tim Walker coming out,” explains Lazar. “It’s cool in the modern world, where there’s less of an obvious structure [for progression] for musicians, for brands to support up-andcoming artists and for it to be genuine.” Nathan Roche, Marseille-based frontman of the Villejuif Underground — a star of
THIS IS THE WHOLE POINT FOR E,” SLIMANE TELLS VOGUE. TO USE MY POSITION TO PROOTE, TO GIVE A VISIBLE STAGE O ALTERNATIVE MUSIC, OR RTISTS. I’VE BEEN DOING THIS OR ALMOST 20 YEARS.”
things that even I wouldn’t hear. But, of course, when I saw the show, it all came together. It was so cool because no one knows who I am and I was sitting in the second row, across from Carla Bruni, Isabelle Huppert and Jane Birkin, who was bobbing her head, and I was half laughing, half crying — it was a trip.”
“Today, mainstream culture, promoted by social-media algorithms that favour numbers, leaves no chance for alternative voices. Sadly, the press does not make the effort to validate anything obscure. If I can do it through fashion or photography, I am happy to commit and help as much as I can.
Bodega frontman, Madison Velding VanDam, shot for Celine FW2020 by Hedi Slimane
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Bodega frontman Madison Velding VanDam photographed by Hedi Slimane for Celine, retreived from IG: @celine
DENIM ONLY EVER OOKED GOOD ON PRINGSTEEN’S UTTOCKS” (OR SO HEY TELL US).
Bodega
written by Brooke McCord, taken from The Face online https://theface.com/style/bodega-the-brooklyn-band-that-soundtrack-celine-ss20
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B O D E GA The Brooklyn four piece that sound-tracked Celine
It was telling that Hedi Slimane’s SS20 Celine collection featured one liners from artist David Kramer, including: “ I have nostalgia for things I probably have never known.” His collection, presented in Paris last week, nodded to the ’70s: shrunken jackets, leather trousers and stone-washed denim that wouldn’t look out of place in Mick Jagger’s old tour wardrobe, worn by a troop of long-haired boys who marched the runway in time to a hypnotic beat. Music is integral to the designer and photographer’s creative process. Having embraced musicians as the face of many of his collections at Saint Laurent – from Courtney Love, Joni Mitchell, and Kim Gordon, to Daft Punk and BB King – Hedi is continuing to champion rock ‘n’ roll rebels while in his role as the creative, artistic and image director at Celine.
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Bodega
This time around Hedi enlisted Bodega, a four-piece Brooklynite art-rock band, to soundtrack the Celine show. Written, composed, recorded and mixed by the band themselves, Name Escape – a track taken from their debut album Endless Scroll, released in 2018 – ran the entire length of the show. It’s a post-punk anthem laced with sarcasm. While the album is an account of the area they hail from – a commentary on the gentrification of Bushwick, zooming in on the sea of white bearded clones that populate the area, each setting out to look individual, but ultimately all looking the same – Name Escape sees lead singer Ben pseudo-rap about a fictional character: “ I’ve seen him at Palisades closing out tabs. I’ve seen him outside of metros flagging down cabs” /“His pants are much tighter than the last time we met” /“He’s got a pizza-core badge which he bought on the Internet.”
MAYBE HEDI WAS WRYLY SUGGESTING THAT SINCE THE CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN, WITH THE RIGHT LOOK, LANGUAGE IS UNNECESSARY TO DENOTE A SUBJECT.
We caught up with the band after the show to talk Brooklyn, leather, denim and, err, Bruce Springsteen’s butt.
What’s the story behind Name Escape… Bodega Ben: The song details observations from a night at the now defunct Bushwick DIY venue Palisades. The Smiths blare out of the P.A. as I chat with people I’ve seen hundreds of times but will never really know. Why did it feel like the right song for Celine SS20? BB: Maybe Hedi was wryly suggesting that since the clothes make the man, with the right look, language is unnecessary to denote a subject. Madison Velding-VanDam: Hedi felt we had the right commodity for his target market. How is Name Escape representative of Brooklyn? BB: The current brand of Brooklyn is a music venue where everyone is an artist too busy hustling to be a member of an audience. MVV: The escaped names are a loose collection of Brooklynite hobbyists and addicts who keep referring to themselves as “ The Scene” for some reason.
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What did you think of the show? N: I’m impressed they staged the show in front of Napoleon’s tomb.
What does it mean to be individual in 2019? BB: A master of your curated digital island but a slave to the cultural, technological, and financial conditions that make your island habitable. Today, when thinking of his island, Polonius would say to the prince: “To thine own shelf be true”. Nik E Ikki: Timothy Leary’s “ Turn on, tune in, drop out” ’60s phrase has become an echo of our current idealistic prison. Every morning we reach for our phone and every bathroom break is a chance to check your notifications – you gotta catch them all. MVV: An individual is one whose personal brand is scalable enough to cut through the saturated marketplace.
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I WOULD WEAR THE CLOTHES AFTER AN ACCIDENTAL CRASH LANDING INTO THE QUARANTINED WASTELAND OF MANHATTAN 20 YEARS FROM NOW. FIGHTING OFF THE RISING TIDES ON 14TH STREET I WILL CLING TO MY CELINE SUITCASE, THE LAST COMFORT OF THE FORMER WORLD BEFORE MY IMMINENT DEATH BY RADIATION.
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Which were your favourite pieces? BB: The black suit with the red rose. It reminded me of Eisenstein’s trick in Battleship Potemkin to paint the flag red in an otherwise all black and white movie. Where would you wear the collection? BB: On my body. MVV: A wine bar, perhaps a cocktail lounge, never a dive. N: I would wear the clothes after an accidental crash landing into the quarantined wasteland of Manhattan 20 years from now. Fighting off the rising tides on 14th street I will cling to my Celine suitcase, the last comfort of the former world before my imminent death by radiation. Leather or denim? Discuss. BB: The vegetarian in me wants to say denim but I prefer leather on a man. Ethics and aesthetics have always butted heads. MVV: Leather. Denim only ever looked good on Springsteen’s buttocks.
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CELINE’S BOLT A Lot of Work Went Into The Celine Soundtrack
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One thing we can all agree on about Celine’s creative director Hedi Slimane is that he is meticulous. Instead of offering a huge new concept each season, he’ll propose a new pant hem or precisely tailored jacket shape (the constant, of course, being that his runway silhouette is always skinny.) This attention to detail, as opposed to spectacle, carries over into everything Slimane does, whether it’s picking the art for the Celine stores around the world, the furniture at the headquarters, or the music for the runway shows.
written by Emilia Petrarce, taken from The Cut online https://www.thecut.com/2020/03/celine-fall-2020-runway-music-sofia-bolt.html
Celine’s Celine’sBolt Bolt
MOVED FROM PARIS TO L.A. THREE EARS AGO, AND I KNOW THAT HEDI OVED FROM L.A. TO PARIS RECENTLY. O THERE’S THAT CONNECTION. ALSO HE RAW, GRITTY, ROCK VIBES. HIS HOW WAS FOR BOTH MEN AND WOMN, WHICH WAS REALLY COOL, AND I HINK MY VOICE ALSO HAS THAT ANROGYNOUS VIBE. I ALSO BASICALLY REW UP ON THE STREET WHERE THE HOW WAS. EVERYTHING CAME TOETHER IN A WEIRD WAY. music
Celine’s Bolt
The French-American musician Sofia Bolt discovered Slimane’s nack for perfectionism when she was asked to collaborate with Celine on the fall 2020 soundtrack. We spoke to her right after the show on Friday night.
No! Yeah. I cannot stand this song anymore. [Laughs.] There was a lot of back and forth. They’re so serious and really know what they want, which is impressive. There was a nine-hour time difference, so I would wake up to like, 12 notes, and they all made sense, which was frustrating, but also nice. Were these notes coming directly from Hedi? Yeah, from Hedi but through the Celine team. What were some of Hedi’s notes? They were super-precise, like, ‘There’s a little guitar sound at 19 minutes and 12 seconds that is a little too loud.’ In moments of frustration, you’re like, Oh my god! It’s 22 minutes! Who cares? But when I was sitting there [at the show], I was like, Yeah.
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Front cover credits: Photograph of Bodega frontman Madison Velding VanDam, by Hedi Slimane for CELINE.com, retrieved from IG:@celine
How did this collaboration come about? Three weeks ago, I was doing a free garage house show in L.A. with my friends. [A member of the Celine team] was randomly there and loved the song. I think they make playlists for Hedi. So we had 10 days to make a 2 and a half minute song into one that was 22 minutes.
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It really makes sense that it had to be perfect. It taught me a lot as an artist. I get it. I get why he is where he is now; it’s about hard work and precision and patience. Patience is definitely not my virtue. Have you ever been to a fashion show before? Nope. First fashion show, ever.
THERE WAS THIS INSANE GOLD SUIT WITH SEQUINS. I WAS REALLY BLOWN AWAY [BY THAT]. HE’S THE DESIGNER THAT SPEAKS TO ME MOST IN FASHION TODAY.
Back cover credits: Photograph of Villejuif Underground frontman Nathan Roche, by Hedi Slimane for CELINE.com, retrieved from IG:@celine
What’d you think? The song is very personal, so it was emotional. I was also really proud. I was in the second row, and I could see all these French celebrities I admired growing up bobbing their head to my song. What is the song about? It’s so straightforward and literal: “Get out my head.” It’s about breaking up with someone and wanting that person to get out of your head — out of your dreams, out of everything — and leave you alone. How does your song relate to the collection? I moved from Paris to L.A. three years ago, and I know that Hedi moved from L.A. to Paris recently. So there’s that connection. Also the raw, gritty, rock vibes. His show was for both men and women, which was really cool, and I think my voice also has that androgynous vibe. I also basically grew up on the street where the show was. Everything came together in a weird way. Did you ever meet Hedi? Nope. He’s very mysterious. Are there any pieces from the collection that you’d want to wear yourself? There was this insane gold suit with sequins. I was really blown away [by that]. He’s the designer that speaks to me most in fashion today. I can’t wait to walk down the street listening to your song, pretending I’m a Celine model. Yes!
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