Celine (brand)

Celine (formerly spelled Céline, stylized in all caps) is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1945 by designer Céline Vipiana. The headquarters are located at 16 rue Vivienne in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris at the Hôtel Colbert de Torcy, which has French Historic Monument classification.

Séverine Merle has been the Chief Executive Officer since April 2017. Since January 2018, Hedi Slimane has been the artistic, creative and image director of Celine, having previously served as creative director for Dior Homme and Yves Saint Laurent.

Creation of the brand
In 1945, Céline Vipiana (1915–1997) and her husband, Richard, created one of the first luxury brands in the industry, Céline, a made-to-measure children's shoe business, and opened a first boutique at 52 rue Malte in Paris. The brand was recognised by its logo, the red elephant created by Raymont Peynet.

A new positioning
In 1960, the brand decided to change its positioning by focusing its business on a ready-to-wear fashion brand for women with a sportswear approach. Henceforth, the brand offered a range of leather goods such as bags, loafers, gloves and clothes. Céline Vipiana remained the designer from 1945 until her retirement in 1988.

In 1964, the launch of the new fragrance "Vent fou" and the new "American Sulky" collection of accessories gained success. The trench coat became the chief product of the house. Prompted by the popularity of leather, Céline opened a leather goods boutique in Florence.

In 1973, Céline redesigned its logo with the intertwined "C" Sulky canvas, linked to the Arc-de-Triomphe, which appeared as a symbol for Parisians. At that time, Céline began its expansion in the world with the opening of various boutiques in Monte Carlo, Geneva, Hong Kong, Lausanne, Toronto and Beverly Hills.

The brand's founders wished to be part of a charitable association, so, Richard Vipiana established the Céline-Pasteur Prize, a sponsor for the American Hospital of Paris in 1973.

Acquisition by LVMH
In 1987, with the approval of the Vipiana family, Bernard Arnault purchased a portion of Céline's capital. In 1996, the brand was integrated into the LVMH group for 2.7 billion French francs ($540 million). LVMH propelled the house to fame with the opening of a flagship boutique at 36 avenue Montaigne in Paris.

Early years

 * 1988–1997: Peggy Huynh Kinh
 * 1997–2003: Michael Kors
 * 2004–2005: Roberto Menichetti
 * 2005–2008: Ivana Omazic

Phoebe Philo, 2008–2018
On September 4, 2008, the fashion portal Women's Wear Daily announced that Bernard Arnault, president of LVMH, had appointed Phoebe Philo as the new creative director of Céline. Philo's tenure at Céline began in October 2008, and she presented her first ready-to-wear collection for Spring/Summer 2010 at Paris Fashion Week. Pierre-Yves Roussel, chief executive officer of LVMH’s fashion division, said that recruiting Philo was giving her the opportunity to express her vision. In 2009, Vogue Magazine defined her style as the “cool minimal trend”.

In 2010, Philo received the Designer of the Year award from British Fashion Council. In 2011, she was awarded International Designer of the Year by the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Both prizes were awarded for her work at Céline.

In December 2017, Philo announced her departure from Céline after finishing the Fall 2018 collection, which was presented in March of that same year.

Hedi Slimane, 2018–present
On January 21, 2018, LVMH announced the appointment of Hedi Slimane as Artistic, Creative and Image Director, set to join the house in February. He directs all Céline collections, extending the brand's offering with the launch of men’s fashion, couture and fragrances.

Slimane’s Céline studio has since been based in Los Angeles, with a prototype studio and an atelier in Paris. In September 2018, Slimane presented an updated Celine logo on the brand's Instagram account. Slimane created his retail flagship concept stores in Paris, Tokyo, Shanghai, Beverly Hills, Madrid, Milan and London. Slimane replaced the brand's traditional style with his personal signature "driven by youth culture, indie rock and sulking adolescence".

CEOs

 * 2000–2006: Jean-Marc Loubier
 * 2006–2008: Serge Brunschwig
 * 2008–2016: Marco Gobbetti
 * 2016–2017: Pierre-Yves Roussel (ad interim)
 * 2017–present: Séverine Merle

Other activities
In 2000, Celine entered into a worldwide licensing agreement with De Rigo for its collection of sunglasses and frames for corrective eyewear. From 2011, the brand had a five-year licensing agreement with Safilo.

From 2000 to 2011, Interparfums held the worldwide license for the development, manufacture and distribution of Celine fragrance lines. The fragrance lines have since been managed in-house.

Retail
The brand operates 178 boutiques worldwide and is distributed through a selective network including the luxury department stores Bergdorf Goodman (New York), Harrods (London), Galeries Lafayette (Paris), and Faradays (Auckland).