Yesterday in Paris, inside the hushed courtyard of Celine’s (Instagram) headquarters, Michael Rider sent out his first collection for the house – a quiet, confident debut that didn’t shout for attention, but held it anyway. There were no gimmicks, no overextended metaphors. Just clothes, remarkably well-considered ones, that managed to nod to the house’s complex lineage while carving a new path with subtle wit.
Rider, who previously worked under Phoebe Philo and is best known for his sharp eye at The Row, inherits a house with two ghosts. One is Philo’s cool, cerebral minimalism; the other, Hedi Slimane’s ultra-coded, ultra-commercial youth gloss. That Rider managed to reference both without being haunted by either is a promising start.
The Spring/Summer 2026 collection walked a careful line, neither nostalgic nor disruptive. There was tailoring, of course – it wouldn’t be Celine without it – but softened. Blazers came slightly boxier and paired with long, lean skirts or crisply cuffed shorts. Rider’s silhouettes were less aggressive than Slimane’s, but never slouchy. They spoke with posture. The colour palette favoured navy, beige, buttercream, and slate, creating an understated elegance. Touches of personality shone through, like a leather varsity jacket reimagined with the Triomphe logo in jacquard and a handbag shaped like a mailbox.
Accessories played a captivating role in Rider’s debut. Models were adorned with layered chunky gold chains and oversized link necklaces that injected a bold, tactile energy into the collection. Keyrings jingled whimsically with charms offering a playful counterpoint to the refined tailoring.
The casting felt similarly measured. Familiar house muses were present, but the faces were more diverse, more lived-in. Rider seems to understand that modern luxury doesn’t mean youthful anonymity — it means believability, relatability, and a very good trouser.
In his own words, Michael Rider said:
“Coming back to Celine, and to Paris, back to 16 rue Vivienne in a changed world, has been incredibly emotional for me. And a complete joy. Celine stands for quality, for timelessness and for style, ideals that are difficult to catch, and even harder to hold on to, to define, despite more and more talk about them out there. We worked on translating them into a way of dressing – that attitude, or attitudes, that we feel describe who we are and what we stand for. I’ve always loved the idea of clothing that lives on, that becomes a part of the wearer’s life, that may capture a moment in time but also speaks to years and years of gestures and occasions and change, of the past, the present and the future, of memories, of usefulness and of fantasy, of life really.”
In a season where many designers are broadcasting new tenures with theatrical flourishes, Rider’s restraint was refreshing. There was no manifesto, no shock tactic. Just clothes made to be worn – by real people, in real cities, with real lives. And in doing so, Rider may have tapped into something rarer than hype: longevity.
As the models took their final lap and guests filed into the courtyard for espresso and whispered post-mortems, one thing was clear: this was not the end of an era, nor its rejection. It was a well-cut continuation, rethreaded, rebalanced, and ready for whatever comes next. Michael Rider had succeeded.
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