It’s easy to forget that Celine is still a relative newcomer to menswear, introduced only seven years ago when Hedi Slimane joined the French house, established in 1945 and owned by LVMH since 1996.
To wit: Slimane’s name is still mentioned at Celine headquarters on the Rue Vivienne, where the brand installed Michael Rider’s fall 2026 menswear collection in the same rooms where the American designer made his runway debut as artistic director only last July.
Some of Slimane’s handwriting remains, including the pointy, Cuban-heeled boots that finished off his trademark skinny jeans, but they were vastly outnumbered by Rider’s super-flat sneakers, loafers and lace-up ballerinas.
In a very short time, Rider has tweaked Celine’s mostly classic wardrobe with little jolts of fashion, helpings of preppy, winks to the past and a very distinctive patina and hand – nothing too bright, stiff or high-contrast.
You noticed the slightly raised waists on belted wool coats; the square bottoms of silk neckties; the shiny gold buttons on a boxy melton blazer, and the offbeat creases on the sleeves of double-breasted jackets.
The collection was mostly hung from pegs on the wall – as Rider displays scarves in Celine boutiques, another of his tweaks amid Slimane’s imposing slabs of marble and Art Deco fixtures – and the styled looks managed to radiate the nonchalance that is another Rider calling card.
There was a ’90s slant to the generous cut of tailored coats, the French blue dress shirts, and the choice of moleskin for a trim camel coat. But Rider also likes to give options, which was demonstrated by stacks of jeans and sweaters that went right to the ceiling in an impressive array of washed colors.
Rider wasn’t present, and he’s not one to over-explain his work. “Classics with bite,” he said in a short statement released after the presentation.
“Character over costume,” was another good way of summing up his approach.
