Arnault Transforms LVMH With a Fashion Star Instead of M&A

  • New designer to oversee expansion of Celine into menswear
  • Slimane takes over at Celine two years after leaving Kering

Celine store on Avenue Montaigne in Paris.

Photographer: Marc Piasecki/GC Images

Bernard Arnault has bagged one of fashion’s biggest stars to take over one of LVMH’s smaller brands, transforming his luxury empire with a high-profile hire instead of a blockbuster acquisition.

Hedi Slimane is taking over as creative director of LVMH’s Celine, ending a two-year exile from the luxury business that began when the designer left rival Kering’s Saint Laurent. Since then, the next move for the man who popularized skinny suits and jeans for men had been the subject of feverish speculation.