Parisian nightspot Le Palace – a former theatre-turned-1980s haunt of Yves Saint Laurent, Grace Jones, Karl Lagerfeld, and more – provided the setting for Celine’s A/W 2023 menswear show, held in February of this year.
It was a place of particular resonance for creative director Hedi Slimane, who first frequented the club when he was 16 years old. Later, he would celebrate his 50th birthday in Le Palace, noting that the spot ‘triggered his future as a couturier’. During his tenures at Dior Homme, Saint Laurent and currently at Celine, he has drawn on the heady spirit of adolescence, oftentimes infused with an after-dark sensibility.
Hedi Slimane directs Celine Homme A/W 2023 film
Released today, a new short film by the French designer is released by the house. Shot in Slimane’s distinct style, it captures the energetic mood of the show, which was inspired by what he called the ‘rediscovery’ of 2000s electro-clash and electro-rock ‘sounds and scenes’.
As such, leather was central to the collection: notably, a pair of skinny leather pants worn in ‘double leather’ looks with biker and racer jackets. Other pieces draw a line between Le Palace’s heyday – it was founded in 1978 and came to be known as ‘Paris’ Studio 54’ – and the 2000s in furry animal print jackets, beaded trompe l’oeil bows, tassels and numerous studs and rhinestones. Looks were completed with a spritz of ‘Nightclubbing’ perfume from the house’s Celine Haute Parfumerie collection.
The show, which was titled ‘Paris Syndrome’, also featured a soundtrack by 1970s New York electronic band Suicide fronted by Alan Vega. The late musician’s artworks featured across the collection, while instrumentalist Martin Rev created the soundtrack. ‘Everybody came in to see Suicide to be entertained,’ Vega was quoted as saying in the collection notes. ‘And all we did was give them back the street, in all its glory.’
The release of the video also coincides with the announcement that Hedi Slimane will show his latest menswear show – Celine Homme S/S 2024 – on Sunday 2 July 2023 in Paris. Like last season, it sees Slimane divert from the official Paris Fashion Week Men’s S/S 2024 schedule, which concluded earlier this week.
Watch the film below.
