Celine Announces Successor Following Hedi Slimane Exit

Appointing Michael Rider, former creative head of Polo Ralph Lauren, as artistic director.

Early Wednesday morning it was confirmed by LVMH that Celine creative director Hedi Slimane would be departing from his role after seven years of leading the French luxury house. The famed designer held tenures at Dior Homme and Saint Laurent before taking the reigns at Celine following Phoebe Philo’s 2018 departure.

In a statement provided to WWD, Celine said “Under his creative and artistic direction, Celine has experienced exceptional growth and established itself as an iconic French couture house.” Celine then took to Instagram stories on Wednesday morning to announce the appointment of the house’s new creative director Michael Rider, former creative director of Polo Ralph Lauren.

According to Business of Fashion, Slimane was estimated to have doubled revenue for the brand to €2.5B EUR, a record breaking milestone in the brand’s history. The designer was also behind a number of rebranding initiatives including dropping the accent mark and “Paris” from the name of the house.

Since early 2024, rumors have to swirled regarding Slimane’s potential departure after a source told BoF that he and LVMH had difficulty settling “thorny” contract negotiations. The news of his exit comes no more than a week since Slimane presented Celine’s SS25 show in Paris.