Hedi Slimane, newly appointed creative director of the French house Celine, has dropped the first bag he designed for the brand. Dropped is the new word/concept adopted in fashion lingo for what used to be presented or launched. In true Slimane fashion, the bag popped in the arms of Lady Gaga who toted it as a trophy in Paris.

Under the elm of Phoebe Philo, Slimane's predecessor, Celine became the Millennials cult brand: linear, French and influencer driven, relatively affordable, coveted, perennially knocked-off by the likes of fast-fashion bulldozer Zara. As much as Phoebe was Celine, it's likely that we can expect Hedi to do just Hedi, what he does best. His number one asset is his Hollywood-based cohort and the strategy in the 4 years at YSL procured stellar sales. 

What now?

As for the use of a diva like Gaga, where can it ever go, other than down? The girl is that talented that after retiring from music stardom, reinvented herself as actress, filmed her first movie that was selected at the Venice Film Festival and got a standing ovation at its screening wearing the most outstanding Valentino Couture pink feathered gown. Do I have to mention, her director is Bradley Cooper debuting in the role? In a place like Venice, where beauty is all around and everybody is gorgeous, these two surpass the human scale.

See what happened? An hyperbole in which the bag would already be forgotten if weren't that she made a statement with it, or several. This is statement bag marketing 101 like it was 2009 allover again. Watch it: after the red carpet teaser, a slightly different model will make its appearance on the runway during fashion month and then, in a matter of weeks it will pester ubiquitously all our Insta feeds. In case you hadn't noticed, it happened in July with the Dior Saddle bag. Although a corroborated formula that worked for Slimane, from a creative director of his caliber, the fashion cognizant were expecting something a bit more modern and aligned with the current state of affairs of an ever evolving fashion world. 

As a related note, these days have resurfaced many iconic images of the late Princess Diana with the recurrence of the accident that took her life 21 years ago. I couldn't help but wonder, there were no social media nor influencers and her looks in and out of the gym or the tennis court made quite the statement. For your eyes only.

I leave it to your judgement.

I am blunt, transparent and honest, usually it's what appreciated of me. I am easy with agreeing with disagreeing and hope, for the sake of the brand, that I will be made wrong by how things will evolve. 

Meanwhile, hold on to your original Celine pieces, shop in your closet, check on re-sale websites like The Real Real or your local consignment store which sounds much more Fashion Revolution-ary.