I may be completely off the mark, but the Celine SS25 collection feels like an audition for Chanel. Or, perhaps, it’s wishful thinking – Hedi Slimane is the designer I would like to see at Chanel, so fingers crossed.
:Featured in:
After 20 years casting models for Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and fashion shows, I wanted to spend more time with my daughters. KiC is my way to share my thoughts on fashion and style. I believe style should permeate every aspect of our lives — from home, to family, to where we go, and naturally, what we wear — especially when we're just running around.
— Preston Davis
Preston, This will be such an interesting story to follow!
Well, probably stepping too far out for this forum; however . . .. The clothes are lovely, but our culture has left this life quite far behind. It’s almost more sad to observe than inspiring. Very lovely, though.
Wow, this is fantastic! I honestly can’t recall the last time I saw a “fashion show” with so many chic and smooth, smart and sexy looks in one place in my lifetime. Dresses, skirts, cardigans, jackets, bags, pumps, babydoll, straight, pleated, and fur! Everything is crisp and wearable – it all speaks French savoir faire + American sensibility. The video is simply perfect.
As a general comment and a response to Tracey, fashion (like any other form of art) is best seen as inspiration for one’s own interpretation. Fashion week items can rarely be copied into real life verbatim (with a few notable exceptions that Preston masterfully selects for KiC). For the most part, we have to do our own homework to pick the elements from the shows and settings, which certainly aren’t a daily background for most of us, and selectively implement them. The artful Celine outfit above is quite inspiring in the color scheme, skirt shape and length, coat sleeves, and, of course, the color and shape of the shoes. Color interplay between the suit and the shoes gives some interesting food for thought as well.
Tracey, we’re all feeling it. We’ve lost our American/western cultural identity – which was exceptionalism in everything. It’s reflected in all of our cities.
Absolutely superb! The early 60’s references to Françoise Hardy, Catherine Deneuve and Jane Birkin, the refinement of the garments, Nico singing, but it’s that typewriter that I’m longing for!
Head to toe perfection. No notes
When the holding image loaded, I momentarily thought it was Chanel. It’s a lovely look.
It’s all very lovely and -except for the baby doll dresses-the type of clothes that I love, especially the fitted jackets and pleated skirts, the cardigan sets and the structured handbags. I see Chanel, YSL and Valentino influences. Like Tracey, I bemoan the overall casual and sloppy dress of many Americans. Elegance has disappeared for the most part- look at what people wear out to dinner, to an orchestra concert, to work in an office etc.
Perfect comment for this forum, thank you. I am often ‘overdressed’, even when I’m not. Sometimes, just wearing a skirt makes me stand out. I don’t let it bother me anymore, it’s my personal style if you will. I have already alerted my brilliant Celine SA that I would like this skirt and jacket.
Very 60s…shapes, hair styles, headbands. My high school days, but very refined, of course!
LOVE. Preston please show these clothes being worn out in the wild! I live in a beach town and it’s very casual here. This (almost) makes me want to be back in the city so I could wear that suit and those shoes.
The suit pictured is styled in a very specific way, but I think you could get a lot of mileage out of the beautifully tailored skirt and jacket together, and especially as separates
I think every one of these looks could be worn exactly as shown – the pieces are so easy and uncomplicated. The shoes, bags, hairbands, etc., are so simple and chic. I love a babydoll dress on a young-ish woman. They require a certain figure, but Agent 99 was able to wear these looks with ease while solving crimes. If I am hearing Tracey correctly, it’s not just that people aren’t making any effort to dress appropriately (much less look stylish), it’s that our cities themselves discourage it. Unless you’re in an extremely wealthy enclave (Hamptons, Palm Beach, Jackson Hole, etc.), the streets themselves are a mess and most women can’t hop a bus or take the train swinging a Celine bag or wearing a good watch.
I think we’ve gone beyond the problem of being surrounded by sloppy, boorish people to now living in cities that no longer glow and have lost any hint of refinement, much less glamour. I continue to dress according to my own style as well, but increasingly, we’ve lost our civilized city backdrop.
I think you’re right Preston.
I wasn’t going to look, but them Pam Boy from Paris wrote such a stunning review, I decided totake a peek.
It was a very elegant show, and much more femnine than we’ve seen in a while.
And now that I think about it, in 2022, Heid’s jackets were literal copies of CHANEL and it made me wonder if he was blatnatly copying on purpose.
Lagerfeld also wore Hedi jackets a lot- even his tuxes, if memory serves. And as far has Hedi’s ability to craft a cmapgin- he can do that in spades. Between his art direction, photography, designer and branding experience, he would be the perfect pick.
I just hope if he does become the director, the jackets and pants will have more allowances than the Celine offerings.
Paula, I understand much of what you are saying…but I think the issue with people dressing in a casual or “sloppy” manner goes way beyond the state of our cities today. Those who live in wealthy areas are just that…wealthy…and have the means and traditions they follow to dress in a refined manner. Unfortunately, the vast majority do not have those privileges. I choose to be more forgiving…I hope we all would strive for that acceptance.
From what I’ve seen, means does not = good taste, dressing appropriately, decorum, etc. And, conversely, lack of means does not = sloppy, casual, etc. My observation is that many folks prefer to be dressed comfortably, and how that is interpreted is the issue. It is most likely a generational difference as well, and I am just getting older, and older, and older…
I agree, the way of dress has nothing to with means and it is generational. When I was a child, my dad was in the Navy. We definitely didn’t have the means to buy expensive clothes, but yet my parents and grandparents were the most elegantly dressed people I’ve ever known. When going out, even to the grocery store almost everyone put their best foot forward. I enjoy looking back at old photos of how people dressed in different generations. There are many benefits to casual dress, and at home I dress casually. There is always some messy job in the house or yard to do and I have dogs, but there is much to said about looking nice when going out. My husband put it best the other night when we were out for a casual dinner: He said, “Is it me, or does everyone look downtrodden?”
I have to agree with Sharon. People who are struggling financially, juggling jobs, health problems, mental and physical and lack of ability to get proper treatment, etc. do not have the bandwidth to care about how they are dressed, or time to cull through even discount stores to decide what is “tasteful”, or actually care. I also choose to be forgiving and non judgmental. I am going to be honest about something – I do wish Paula would stick more to posts that discuss the clothing, instead of taking the opportunity to impose her not so well hidden political, cultural , and implicitly racial point of view in every discussion.
I have always enjoyed the lively discussions and thoughtful commentary from various points of view here but must say I am disheartened by the above mean-spirited and uncharitable characterization of a fellow-commenter which has nothing to do with fashion or style and is certainly not forgiving or non- judgmental.
Oh my–please don’t chase Paula away! I appreciate her reflections–
.I look forward to her comments. let’s not let these divisions invade this beautiful community that I, for one, enjoy so much.. There are plenty of other avenues to express these alternative views.
Parts of this conversation surprised me. I am hopeful we all agree that many an underprivileged woman has the taste and care to walk out her front door looking classy and fabulous. Of course, sometimes life exhausts us too much for the effort, and this is human. In the privileged urban zip codes where I have spent time, women also share stories of purses going home with other people, and we may modify how we dress based on how we’ll be traveling. In fairness, someone who always takes a car from door to door wouldn’t have to consider avoiding attention in the same way, and that’s a very pleasant way to travel. Robyn, your husband’s question about people looking downtrodden made me smile. My husband recently suggested that he’d be overdressed for a gala-type event in his tuxedo. He was right.
I agree with Barbara…I hope Paula continues to share her observations! I did comment on her post, but I do hope I didn’t disparage her views…just expressing another perspective. We each have our own opinions and I enjoy reading them all. I try to maintain a sense of reality while still keeping up with what is happening in the world of fashion, even when that world is far from accessible for most.
I also appreciate Paula’s comments, which always convey her POV in a thoughtful and forthright manner.
Paula’s name is one I always search for, as I know it will be an intelligent take on the topic of choice.
Let’s keep this community strong and cohesive !
People looking “downtrodden” does not make me smile, it makes me sad.
I will miss what used to be a very different KIC community, but I don’t align with it anymore.
Preston – thanks for many wonderful years of reading. Blessings to you all.
Paula, I do enjoy your POV on fashion but wish that we could leave the political perspectives and divisiveness at the door and maintain a kinder, more open-hearted approach to those in the world who dress in a style that diverges from what we in the KIC community would choose.
For what it’s worth, having lived in New York for over a decade I can say that the streets are not a mess and that there are plenty of people on the subway with Celine bags and Cartier watches – the subway is the fastest way to get around and while a car service is nice there’s no point sitting in traffic! I was recently in San Francisco, hopped on a bus headed from the financial district to the presidio and was surprised by the amount of Celine I saw from my fellow passenger even in the capital of athleisure.
Up until now, I’ve remained silent but now I must just say that I am in agreement with Kathy and Sharon. Let’s all just agree to being more forgiving and less judgmental. We rarely know what it’s like to walk in another’s shoes.