Michael Rider’s first standalone Men’s show for CELINE opened inside a white structure that looked almost unfinished. The set had the blankness of a photography light box: white walls, exposed space, a feeling of something still being built. It was a fitting place for a first menswear statement, especially one that did not try to announce itself too loudly.
Rider worked with clean shapes, sharp cuts and small details that changed the way the looks sat on the body. The palette was darker than expected for spring: browns, reds, burgundies and black. When the collection moved into black, it often did so completely, with full looks that made the silhouette feel more severe.
There was a lot here that recalled Phoebe Philo’s CELINE, in the androgyny, the proportions, the practicality made slightly strange. Classic trenches appeared alongside skinny trousers, large bags, satin blouses, earrings, gloves, ties and beaded necklaces. The show kept returning to familiar pieces, but styled them in ways that made them less fixed.
The waist was one of the main points of attention. Belts appeared throughout, sometimes layered, sometimes metallic, sometimes with objects hanging from them. Other looks had thick fabric wrapped around the body, almost like a fastening.
The androgyny was strongest in the styling. Men wore earrings, coloured leather gloves, satin blouses, necklaces and bags. A beaded necklace worn with a tie was one of the most interesting details, because it kept the formality of menswear while disturbing it slightly. There was also a shawl with sparkly fringes…
The bags were some of the strongest pieces in the show, some were huge and tucked under the arm. Some looked almost like scrunched-up fabric being carried by hand, one seemed to sit on the back, held by something close to a necklace. They were oversized, deconstructed, sometimes completely impractical, but that was part of why they worked. Who cares if a bag is impractical when it gives the whole look its shape?
Skinny legs appeared again too, continuing a silhouette that has been visible across other runways this season. There was also a slight rock-and-roll feeling coming through, especially in the metallic skinny trousers, the tank tops and the belts with things hanging from them. It was not a full return to Hedi Slimane’s CELINE, but that sharper energy was still in the room.
For his first menswear show, Rider kept it controlled. He did not erase CELINE’s recent past, and he did not lean too heavily on nostalgia either. There was Phoebe in the proportions, Hedi in the skinny rock elements, and something softer in the accessories and styling.
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