Celine Les Grands Classiques Suzanne Lindon Fall 2021 Ad Campaign

Review of Celine Les Grands Classiques Session 4 Fall 2021 Ad Campaign by Creative Director Hedi Slimane with talent Suzanne Lindon

Celine and Hedi Slimane share the fourth part of their ongoing campaign series “Les Grand Classiques,” this time starring French actor/director Suzanne Lindon.

Each installment of the series has seen a different young woman model a range of Celine’s classic Parisian-chic staples, captured through Slimane’s signature moody portraiture. The latest installment maintains the approach, with Lindon serving looks while dressed with sophisticated yet casual cool-girl style.

While the consistency of the approach is a good way to maintain the cohesiveness of the brand image, it is starting to feel a bit tired. Part of the repetitiveness is that Slimane brings his talent to him, instead of meeting them where they’re at: even though Lindon is a talented actor and a rising director, he doesn’t really let her be an artist and casts her as just another face. She does have a refreshingly unique look, but it’s almost as if Slimane plays it down. We’ve seen this topless-with-jeans photograph dozens of times before. Does the brand really want to send the message that women and their bodies are interchangeable?

However, the simplicity of these auxiliary campaigns does serve as a counterpoint to the main seasonal campaigns, reaffirming what is essential about the brand as individual collections slightly veer off in other directions.

In this way, the campaigns provide a strong aesthetic – and financial – backbone for the brand, even if they feel immediately forgettable.