Celine SS27 began with a little black dress and a voice from Paris Is Burning. On Saturday in Paris, Michael Rider opened his spring show with a recording of the drag performer Dorian Corey from the 1990 ballroom documentary, talking about ambition, ageing and leaving a mark, before sending out a deep-V black dress that, as Elle put it, let “clothes just do their job.” For Cover Issue’s runway desk on Monday 5 October IST, Celine SS27 is the quietly confident collection of the final Paris weekend, and the clearest sign yet that Rider’s Celine has found its own voice. WWD called it a “humdinger”; W said it “finds joy in clothes that don’t try too hard.”
Celine SS27: the set and the soundtrack
Elle places the show at the National Archives in the Marais. WWD describes guests packed onto benches under a huge thatched roof built in a leafy museum courtyard, and W calls the set airy and serene. The relaxed set matched the clothes.
The soundtrack carried the theme. W quotes the Corey monologue: “Everybody wants to make an impression, some mark upon the world… You don’t have to bend the whole world… If you shoot an arrow and it goes real high, hooray for you.” WWD reports Rider left a badge on every seat, designed like a political slogan, with that final line. “What she says in that moment felt very relevant right here, right now,” Rider told WWD. W called the message “a breath of fresh air during a week packed with the kind of sky-high ego for which the fashion industry is known.”
“Emotional dressing” in Rider’s own words
Rider doesn’t over-explain his shows. WWD notes he prefers to leave them open to interpretation. But his comments give the collection a clear frame. Elle reports he described the idea as “emotional dressing,” writing in the show notes that he wanted to convey “a sense of calm when you need it. Otherwise, loads of the energy we get from each other.” Backstage, he told WWD: “I think what’s interesting about Celine is that tension, because it is a rigorous place… I love when real clothes are worn spontaneously.” And on method: “We’re pretty intuitive, and I think that’s how we roll.”
Elle quotes Rider describing his approach as “unencumbered [and] unfussed,” and connects it to Phoebe Philo, under whom Rider first worked at Celine. Philo famously designed for the female gaze, with clothes that were intellectual, quietly sensual and practical. Rider is picking up that thread his own way.
The clothes: satin, black and something slightly off
WWD’s Miles Socha says Rider has “a knack for taking your eye to unexpected places.” His examples: a skinny belt on a full dressmaker coat, a silver bangle “the size of a cantaloupe” on a slim gown, a deliberate crease on the back vent of a papery jacket, and LBDs with a slightly awkward fit. Many of the fabrics were crisp satins, often in black and midnight blue, which gave the collection what WWD calls “an appealing, soigné vibe.”
Then comes the twist. Each look, WWD writes, sits somewhere between dressy and casual thanks to one unexpected element: a deliberately scuffed sneaker, an offbeat headband, bandana-print harem pants, or a graphic concert T-shirt under a white satin pantsuit that undercuts the Bianca Jagger reference you might first see. Our cover, a three-look runway panel courtesy of Celine, shows that range: a white tailored suit with a tan tote, a tomato-red top and matching trousers like the standout look W singled out, and the black deep-V opening dress.
W’s highlights include easy separates in creams, whites and hay tones; collarless leather cape coats; off-the-shoulder tops and fine layering knits; slouchy trousers cinched at the ankle; a floor-length sundial-print dress; and a beaded short-sleeve turtleneck dress. Men wore satin shirts that W says brought “a lightness and a sense of optimism.”
Elle adds the proportions. Trousers came in every shape, from narrow chinos to balloon silhouettes, pleated patterned styles and a printed gaucho pair that looked like luxury sweatpants. There was a butter-yellow sheath with a faded, scarf-like print that nods to the house’s past, a sharp leather jacket, a strong-shouldered suit coat, an extra-large floral patchwork bag, long beaded necklaces, and a beaded micro dress that, Elle writes, announced itself with a “clang” as it walked.
More eveningwear, still wearable
Elle notes Rider leaned into eveningwear more than in previous collections, with a run of LBDs. He kept them grounded, though. Worn with a jazz shoe or a trench, the dressier pieces “didn’t feel like outliers in the Celine woman’s wardrobe.” This is the most useful idea in the show for real wardrobes: the black dress is no longer only for evening.
Where Rider’s Celine stands now
WWD argues Rider’s low-key, introspective chic feels fresh. Nearly two years into the job, he has managed to blend very different source material: Celine’s long history of Parisian chic, the separate Phoebe Philo and Hedi Slimane eras, and his own American sportswear background from his years at Polo Ralph Lauren. Like his well-received men’s show in June, WWD says, the women’s collection was hard to pin down, moving between austere minimalism and bohemian ease without fully committing to either. W described Rider’s Celine as “humble and brightly spirited.”
Celebrity guests reflected that mood. W lists SZA, Tracee Ellis Ross, Honey Dijon and Lisa Bonet in the front row, and suggests Bonet “would stun in Rider’s new curious hats.”
How to wear Celine SS27 now
The off-note rule: dress up a satin or tailored look with one deliberately casual piece, such as a scuffed sneaker, a band T-shirt or a headband.
The LBD with flats: copy Rider’s styling and wear a black dress with a jazz shoe or under a trench for daytime.
One giant bangle: a single oversized silver cuff on a slim dress, as WWD described, beats a stack.
Tomato red: a matching red top and trouser is the season’s strongest colour statement from the show.
Trouser variety: try a balloon or ankle-cinched slouchy trouser in place of your usual straight leg.
The Corey quote may be the best summary of the collection. While other houses went for spectacle, Celine SS27 aimed for clothes people will actually want to wear. Read it alongside Valentino’s Antibiblioteca on this morning’s Cover Issue front page, the most maximal show of the weekend, to see the two directions Paris is taking this season.