What’s Hedi Slimane’s Next Move After Celine?

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On Golden Globes eve, the first fashion party of 2025 nabbed one of the industry’s most elusive guests: Hedi Slimane. Slimane, the sphinx of svelte, has kept a characteristically low profile since parting ways with Celine in October. Though the designer has a rich artistic practice photographing the slender beauties who skulk through the edgy music scenes of Berlin, Paris, and Los Angeles, Slimane is press-shy and rarely poses for photos himself. But not on Saturday night, when Slimane attended W’s pre-Globes bash at the Chateau Marmont and reportedly “spent much of the night in conversation with Charli XCX.” (An attendee informed me that the designer also hung out with Louis Vuitton women’s creative head Nicolas Ghesquière and award season stiletto chieftain Christian Louboutin.)

A couple photos of a leather jacket-clad Slimane from the evening reveal, well, not much—other than the fact that Slimane still looks great for a 56-year-old nightlife veteran, and has a lush, floppy haircut. Still, his appearance arched a few eyebrows, given that Slimane’s next moves are the subject of intense speculation.

Slimane’s Celine tenure could very well have been a capstone to his career. In his seven years at the helm of the LVMH-owned heritage French maison, the Parisian native broke new ground in his career-long excavation of youth style subcultures, applying a couturier’s touch to the androgynous leather and denim uniforms of post-punk, indie sleaze, and even TikTok scenes. Though his (frequently mimicked) bourgeois-rock star aesthetic remained polarizing, particularly to fans of his predecessor Phoebe Philo, his flared jeans and vertiginously-heeled leather boots flew off shelves. By the time Slimane left, he had reportedly doubled annual revenues to north of $2.5 billion.

Slimane in his Celine days Estrop

Slimane has yet to comment on why he exited Celine, where he was swiftly replaced by the American Ralph Lauren alum Michael Rider (a low-key guy of whom even fewer images exist on the Internet). But on his way out, Slimane seemed to drop hints about his future ambitions. His final women’s collections, heavy on distinctive collarless tweed jackets and posh pleated skirts, looked to many observers like a not-so-subtle tryout for the then-vacant creative director job at Chanel.

In early December, of course, Chanel swiped Matthieu Blazy from Bottega Veneta. Cue shiny black stallion, and Slimane riding off into the sunset? Hardly. In the days when Blazy’s appointment hadn’t been formally announced—but was an open secret—an Instagram account called Hedi Slimane Homme came online. The first post recapped Slimane’s “Black Tie” collection for Yves Saint Laurent in 1999, when the young designer burst on the scene with a virile vision of men’s style that was hardcore but also tender, like the rock ’n’ rollers he documented in graffiti-covered clubs. The account—widely assumed to be run by Slimane or someone close to him—has also published archival images from Slimane’s groundbreaking run at Dior Homme in the aughts, when he introduced his now-signature dagger-sharp silhouette to the masses, and from his return to Saint Laurent from 2012-2016 when he moved to LA and found grungy inspiration in SoCal’s surf scenes.

Fashion world group chats immediately lit up with the same question: is Slimane teasing his long-rumored solo act?

Hedi Slimane Homme does have a nice ring to it, and there are several factors pointing to a potential independent venture. For one, Slimane is famous for insisting on complete creative control over every aspect of the brands he has worked for. At Celine, for instance, he photographed every campaign, personally oversaw the development and launch of fragrance, and eventually got rid of seasonal runway shows for lavishly-produced short films that he dropped at whim. Still, he ultimately reported to his bosses at LVMH. With his own brand, Slimane could showcase his clothing however he wanted, on any schedule. (A feature film scored by The Dare starring Iggy Pop and Nettspend?) Phoebe Philo, Slimane’s equally demanding Celine predecessor, has proven it can work with the right financial backing (LVMH has a minority stake in her business).

But don’t get your hopes up just yet, Slimaniacs. During past free agencies, the designer has fiercely kiboshed rumors that he’s launching an indie brand. In 2016, WWD published a rumor that Slimane had been spotted in Qatar drumming up investment for an eponymous fashion venture from gulf state fund Mayhoola, which owns Valentino and Balmain. In response, Slimane tweeted a statement from his lawyer that read, in part, “For the record, Hedi Slimane has never had in the past, let alone now, the intention or desire to launch a brand under his name,” adding that he had Slimane expanded on his thinking a year later to The New York Times, saying, “My own name was always off limits, entirely dedicated to photography. It is a necessity for me, and reasonable, to create clear, legitimate and protective creative territories and boundaries.”

According to a source familiar with his thinking, Slimane is still singing the same tune. The source tells me that Slimane is currently in LA resting and taking photographs, which doesn’t sound like a man in a hurry to establish a new fashion house. (Remember, he took a five year break in between Dior and Saint Laurent, and another two years off before Celine.) The source also emphasized the critical importance of Slimane’s relationship with the highly-trained atelier teams at YSL and Celine, the institutional skill required to execute his most elevated, imaginative ideas. It would be a tall order to build a similar workshop on his own; if Slimane thinks of himself as a couturier, and I believe he does, an independent venture isn’t going to cut it.

So what options does that leave Slimane? The source cautioned that the Hedi Slimane Homme account is for purely archival purposes, but the posts read to me like a pointed message to an industry in the midst of upheaval. Slimane’s work is much more subversive and innovative than many give him credit for, and Hedi Slimane Homme feels like a reminder: I crashed Paris Fashion Week with androgyny and indie sleaze when your favorite new androgynous indie sleazester was still in diapers! Is this one sign that Slimane is throwing his rakish felt fedora in the ring during a moment where many brands are—or should be—looking to a proven creative dynamo and commercial rainmaker?

Potential dance partners that have surfaced in the fashion press include Gucci, Dior, and Armani. Giorgio Armani turned 90 last year, and he is a fan of Slimane, with whom he reportedly exchanges handwritten correspondence. (In November, Armani denied the rumor that a Slimane succession was underway.) And what about Maison Margiela, now designer-less following John Galliano’s departure in December? In a little-known footnote to his resumé, Slimane actually apprenticed for Martin Margiela in the early ’90s, and Galliano spent the last decade beefing up the Renzo Rosso-owned brand’s couture ateliers to wonderful effect. It’s a tantalizing connection. Would Slimane do it? Only he knows where he’ll be spotted next.

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