FASHION

Céline Has a Controversial New Logo, Under the Leadership of New Creative Director Hedi Slimane

The accent on the “e” has been removed.

Sep. 3, 2018

Since Hedi Slimane was named Phoebe Philo’s successor at minimalist-chic fashion label Céline in January, there hasn’t been much indication of what his vision of the brand will look like. Not that this is surprising—Slimane is famously private about his life and work, and most designers wouldn’t spoil a big fashion week reveal. But last week, Lady Gaga stepped out in Paris carrying a bag designed by Slimane for Céline. The black leather bag was reportedly a personal gift to Gaga from him (the two have a long history).

Now, we have another hint at what Slimane’s vision might entail. On Sunday, September 2, 2018, the brand Céline will now read as simply Celine, thanks to a brand new logo.

The French fashion house announced the changes on Instagram with three posts, the first simply read, “INTRODUCING CELINE NEW LOGO #CELINEBYHEDISLIMANE”

The second and third posts included the same message, with the same hashtag, in English and then in French, which explained the new logo. “The new logo has been directly inspired by the original, historical, version that existed in the 1960s,” the post read in all caps. “The modernist typography used dates from the 1930s.”

In addition to changing the font, the brand has also removed the accent from the logo. “The accent on the ‘e’ has been removed to enable a simplified and more balanced proportion, evoking the Celine collections of the 1960’s where the accent wasn’t used often,” the post continued. “The spacing between the letters has been balanced out and the letters have been brought closer together.”

The removal of the accent has already proved controversial to Céline stans on Instagram. But controversy has never dissuaded Slimane from taking risks—this is, after all, the creative director who famously dropped the “Yves” from “Yves Saint Laurent” when joining the French fashion house, before rebranding Saint Laurent with an all caps logo, and a new risqué look.

The logo is also dropping the word “Paris” from frequent use. “The 1960s version of the logo including the word ‘Paris’ will be reinstated within the clothing and on packaging, however ‘Paris’ will not appear beneath the logo on campaigns.”

Read the complete post below.

Other than these three posts, the @Celine account is otherwise empty. With 1.4 million followers, the page follows exactly 0 accounts—including @HediSlimane himself. (For what it’s worth, the photographer and designer also follows 0 accounts.)

Of course, Céline only joined Instagram in February 2017, as part of a push to increase the digital profile of the brand. If Slimane’s initial moves are any indication, the brand’s Instagram presence will only continue to grow.