Kaia Gerber's friend and collaborator Hedi Slimane, best known as the former creative director of Celine, is leaving the French fashion house after a seven-year stint. The news was announced in the early morning hours of October 2, after weeks of speculation. [Under his creative and artistic direction, Céline has achieved extraordinary growth and established itself as one of France's leading couture houses. The extraordinary path we have taken together over the past seven years has made Céline a house with a solid foundation for the future.”

Rumors that Slimane might be tapped to replace Virigny Viard at Chanel received a particularly strong response after the press saw his latest collection at Paris Fashion Week. Ruffles, tweed, pearls, headbands, and skirt suits were heavily represented in the Spring 2025 collection.

Meanwhile, Slimane's replacement at Celine has already been announced. According to Vogue Business, it is Michael Ryder, formerly of Polo Ralph Lauren and a protégé of former Celine designer Phoebe Philo.

Slimane made a name for himself at Yves Saint Laurent and Dior Homme before becoming Céline's creative and image director in February 2018, following Phoebe Philo's retirement.The 56-year-old designer has always been about clothes for the young and cool; he has always been about the young and cool, and he has always been about the young and cool, In other words, he excels at making clothes for smoking in the cafes of the Marais. One could even say that the indie-sleaze aesthetic was born out of his body of work. But Slimane proved surprisingly flexible at Céline, and was all too capable of adapting his rocker-chic tendencies to the Maison's particular brand of luxe French girl femininity.

Silliman's habitual flight from the spotlight brought him out of the pandemic and into a star-studded runway show at the Wiltern in Los Angeles for Céline's Fall 2023 collection. The December 2022 show, dubbed “the age of Indianness,” concluded with Kaia Gerber in a gold mini-dress, who remained on stage as Slimane took her bow.

Since then, Gerber has worn Celine many times, both on and off the red carpet. Some of her most memorable looks dedicated to Slimane include the gold fringe mini dress she wore to the BAFTA after-party in February 2024 and the disco queen strapless dress she wore to Vanity Fair's Academy Awards party in March.

Celine items that Garber has worn as everyday wear include a Claude shoulder bag that she paired with a baby blue cashmere cardigan and ballet flats earlier this month; in May, she carried Celine's black Triomp sandals and mini classic Triomp purse at out in front of the Met Gala in New York City. Gerber was also the face of Celine's first Pilates collection for the French brand, designed by Hedi Slimane. The campaign ended in June, but the products will finally hit stores this month.

It will be interesting to see where Slimane lands next, but his legacy at Celine will undoubtedly remain. Perhaps his best and most distinctive work still lies ahead. Wherever he goes, Gerber will follow.