The 90s ravers from the SS22 collection by Celine Homme

Celine Homme's last fashion show staged yesterday with a video shot on the Île du Grand Gaou, in the south of France, brought to Hedi Slimane's repertoire a pleasant chaos, like what you could see in a rave on the beach. Motocross, aerobatic flights on ramps, sticks twirling in the air, and the pounding beat of Californian music Izzy Camina accompanied a show that, despite the idyllic maritime setting, was a pulsating, fervent tribute to raves and clubbing cultures. All of Hedi Slimane's greatest hits were present: boots, leather trousers, sleeveless biker jackets and blazers hybridized with rock elements. Yet something different happened for this collection: the proverbial skinny silhouette by Hedi, the one that revolutionized menswear by opening the doors to that rock aesthetic that still enjoys immense success today has relaxed and has left room for oversized mega-jeans in the style of the famous JCNO 90s ones, shirt-tunics and sequined caftans , to the oversize and, above all, to an accentuation of the gender fluidity of the looks – which, however, for Hedi is not at all revolutionary. 

Without a doubt, this collection was the one that most recalled not Slimane's past at Saint Laurent, what everyone remembers, but his initial debut at the helm of Dior Homme, to the point that the long skirts worn by some of the models were probably a reference to Dior Homme's FW04, a collection entitled Victim of the Crime, while the very first look of the show has a construction almost identical to one of the looks of Dior's SS06, a collection inspired by Pete Doherty and full of sleeveless tops, animal prints, leather pants and sequins. 

The general aesthetic, however, putting motocross and the Mediterranean scenery to the side, recalled the nightclubs: both the techno discos of Berlin and the beloved English sweat pits where Slimane went to photograph Pete Doherty and the glam and punk influences mixed in a gigantic, hedonistic cauldron. The heritage of English rock clubs of the early 2000s, however, has obviously been updated for a different era – an era in which oversized and skinny coexist, in which hoodies are a branded luxury product. The reference to JCNO jeans, however, as well as the metal edges of punk belts that become a pattern for entire vests, camo pants, mirror glasses, leather chokers, the reference to motocross – all recalls the clubbing scenes of the late 90s, the pop-punk of artists such as the Offspring, the Blink 182 (who often played women's dress) , just sayin'), Avril Lavigne, All Time Low, Fall Out Boy and Good Charlotte.

Like the latest collections designed by Hedi, in any case, this one was one of the least nostalgic – the designer found a new lifeblood in exploring the eclectic youth cultures of today and in recalling those of yesterday with precision but without ever wallowing in the past. Its main ability is always to be able to create an infinitely wearable product: although obviously during the show the styling has a more extreme fold for artistic reasons, the audience already knows that once they arrive in the store the individual garments are classics. Finally, another remarkable ability of Hedi, is to grasp the trends, in this case that of the DIY, recalled with the presence of crochet hats, homemade but in reality very sophisticated decorations such as the "scribbled" embroidery on jeans and coats, the writings on the blazers similar to safety pins and punk studs.