I once worked for Celine. It was only for a brief time, (I quit to go and intern at British Vogue - priorities eh?) but while I worked for the luxury fashion brand I fell completely in love with just about all their pieces. I never really like Celine, except for the bags. The bags were an exception. From the over-sized luggage phantom and the streamlined 'Belt' bag to the beautiful grained calfskin box bag and the functional trio, a Celine bag is for life. When I was 16 I brought a fake Celine luggage bag from Ebay thinking I was extremely cool and nobody would notice -I gave it to a charity shop some time ago. But when it came to the Celine aesthetic and catwalk collections I just didn't get it. All that awful minimal rubbish, the weird ad campaigns, the horrendous styling - it was the complete opposite of the sexy, stylish Dolce and Gabbana I adored. I couldn't get my head around why at Paris Fashion Week everyone would be fainting over Phoebe Philo's latest collection which I always considered to be boring and just generally ugly. Instead of showing off a womans body she concealed it under layers of fabric and shapeless shirts which literally just hung on the body. I never gave Celine much thought.
Skip forward to 2016 and I wouldn't say I'm a complete Celine convert (not yet anyway) but I get it now, and I want an awful lot of it now. The first few weeks spent working at Celine I would run my hand over the various dresses, tops, trousers and coats hanging on the rails and mutter about how overpriced these pieces were. I mean £1290 for a pair of viscose trousers or £890 for black skate shoes was ludicrous to me as they weren't even appealing. Yet customers would buy, and buy and buy. Slowly I started imaging myself wearing head to toe Celine on a daily basis and rather liked the idea. From being boring, I realised the design of these clothes was actually very clever and so super stylish. I ended up contemplating whether I should actually buy this beautiful white cotton top with balloon sleeves using my discount (the price would have still been over £800 but I persistently tried to justify it. I couldn't.)
As the look book came out for the pre-season, I flicked through the pages becoming more and more depressed that I would never be able to afford any of these amazing pieces. I loved the classic crombie wool coat and the hot 'Bam Bam' shoes while the bags, which Celine update every season using different materials, could all have fit easily into my wardrobe. I had gone from the anti-Celine camp to a total fanatic for the brand. This brings me on to Phoebe Philo. The woman is a genius. Since she arrived at Celine back in 2008 the creative director has forged an 'It' bag through the creation of the 'Luggage' bag, seen on just about everyone's arm as well as creating a strong aesthetic for the label. You can spot a Celine item a mile away through the cut, fabric and colour because of Philo. Celine is one of the top shoes at PFW because of the way in which Philo understands so clearly what a woman wants to wear, not what a man wants a woman to wear. Her clothes which I once thought were incredibly ugly, actually do flatter a womans figure. Look at Fashion Features Director at British Vogue Sarah Harris who swears by Celine and always looks amazing in their khaki pants or crisp white shirts. Or Miroslava Duma, a working woman who always manages to dress her tiny frame in powerful Celine separates. Celine is for women who want to look good at work, at home, at the shops or on a night out. I wouldn't go as far to wear Celine at a party though.
I still am not a huge fan of the ad campaigns. It's not my cup of tea but it communicates such a strong message to audiences of what Celine represents. Simplicity, luxury, beauty and forward thinking, Philo is always one step ahead and will probably continue to be so. My favourite collections over the years has been the bright Spring/Summer 2014 show which featured splashes of colour on white shirts and formal coats while the pre-fall 2016 collection was simply divine. The bottle green coat was a particular fav. So there it is, a perfect example of how I have come to love a brand which I previously hated. The question is, have I converted you?
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| Celine over the years... |
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| One of my favourite collections, the pre-fall 2016. |
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| You don't get more stylish than a Celine bag - choose your style |
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| Miroslava Duma and Sarah Harris are perfect street style Celine ambassadors |
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