Michael Rider's brings a fresh air at CELINE

With a breeze blowing through Parc de Saint-Cloud that clung to the summer’s heat, Sunday marked the second collection Michael Rider brought to CELINE as creative director. An extension of his previous and first collection, Rider brought wearable styles to the SS26 runway that intermingled classic construction with spontaneity in color and styling.

Models of all genders walked down the open-air runway sporting crisp suiting, structured babydoll dresses, and multi-color 60s-esque prints– many carrying motorbike helmets and large bucket bags. The collection was a pointed evaluation of Celine itself, walking with half-popped collars and lived-in hairstyles: professional yet playful, structured yet asymmetrical, stuffy yet flowing free.

This season, Rider has complemented the revolving door of society, and its habit of always spinning to the next moment. The fresh weightlessness of recalling a summer memory is represented in his collection with intentional details that are symbolic of the imperfections and memories that come with living in a garment.

In the current atmosphere that is overflowing with the pressure of being innovative, Rider has surmounted and passed by this notion. Rider shared that when creating this collection, they were thinking “about how clothes, shoes, and all of it become a part of the memories we make wearing them”. As a brand riding the cusp between ready-to-wear and couture, Rider has returned a carefree freshness to Celine as a quiet luxury brand by calling attention to the true importance of clothing: the ability to express oneself freely, so that you can remember a moment in full recognition that you were yourself. – Alex Dmitruk

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