Aisle 9 Celine Cleanup: Hedi Slimane Did Not Take 4-5 Years to Deliver his Vision

In a recent discussion about why Jonathan Anderson should be given the same 4-5 years to deliver results at Dior, that Hedi Slimane took at Celine, AOC just sighed as we got out the mop and bucket and headed for Aisle 9. “No way,” Anne mumbled as she gave the bucket a good kick in exasperation.

“Hedi Slimane brought almost immediate results to the Celine brand. Why doesn’t Suzie Q check her facts the way we do. We pay $180 a year to read her nonsense. She should stick to recommending lip gloss.”

Committed to facts and knowing that we all make mistakes — including AOC — Anne ran SQ’s “it took a long time at Celine” assertion through AI to confirm our position.

Does Suzie Q Understand 5-Year Plans?

We’re not trying to be extra wordy here, but it occurs to Anne that Suzie Q misunderstands 5-year business plans as the time a CEO or creative director has to achieve a winning strategy. That’s wrong.

A 5-year plan has intermediate, must-reach goals along the way. Achieving these intermediate goals confirms that the 5-year plan is achievable. If you’re running low on the gas in years 1 and 2, financial leadership will challenge the reliability of your branding and design vision strategy. If those numbers are a clear miss in year 2, concrete strategic changes are probably required, in order to salvage the 5 yr plan.

The pressure is acute if similar luxury brands are doing well. Anyone who has held an executive position in a large business knows the drill.

Scenes from Dior Spring 2026 Haute Couture Show, January 26, 2026

Images via Dior Instagram

If you have a uniquely-ambitious plan for the #2 brand at LVMH, the financial team will be riding behind you, like you’re on a Harley together.

No Yamaha MT-07 for you to dart around Paris with the financial crew. No Yamaha X Max 125 either. You can send your devoted-to-you CEO mama into meetings to have uncomfortable discussions, but even she will tell you in year 2 that she’s no longer willing to ride that HOG on your behalf if there’s major trouble in paradise.

Hopefully, this scenario doesn’t find a place on the Dior calendar.

Gemini explains:

Jonathan Anderson has referenced a 4–5 year timeline to achieve his vision at Dior because he views the house as a "ginormous," deeply historical entity that requires a slower, more deliberate, and intellectual approach to overhaul.

Rather than relying on a quick, ‘formulaic’ refresh, Anderson intends to take the time to fully immerse himself in the brand's history, rethink its foundational codes, and establish a new, cohesive narrative across its vast product range. 

It all reads well . . . until it doesn’t. I am in total agreement that this absolute overhaul of the Dior brand is not a short-term project. The first order of business is who leaves Dior for Chanel and how many leave Dior for Fendi. I assume a major chunk of the Dior Men’s business will go to Louis Vuitton Men or somewhere else.

Under Pharrell’s current vision, he and Kim Jones share a similar vibe. And they should. Both of them — Jones much more than people understood — was very tight with former LV Men’s Virgil Abloh.

That’s the #1 issue and it will be known in the first 12 months, along with selling on Anderson’s new product to existing customers and also new customers coming now to Dior because they love Anderson’s vision of the brand. These cards will be shuffled in the first year. By this June, we will have a much better handle on the Dior situation, even if Anderson says “Leave me alone. I will talk business with you in 2031.”

It’s possible that Anderson thinks he’s a Sun-King and once people leave the brand, he can try another approach and get them back. That’s not very likely in AOC’s opinion.

Clients are not disposable cogs in Dior’s wheel. In the case of women customers of the brand, how many feel that way? We don’t know.

Important Cards in the 2026 Dior Deck: Dior to Chanel Client Transfer; Dior to Fendi Client Transfer; Dior Men to Louis Vuitton Men Transfer; Sales of Anderson Product to Remaining Dior Clients; Dior’s New Customers, Now Anderson Clients in Men and Women Growth

Fendi’s Maria Grazia Chiuri and CEO Ramon Ros should come out of the gate like Hedi Slimane did at Celine. Ros has indicated that, under his leadership, the role of a creative director at Fendi involves curating culture and reflecting the modern world, which includes acknowledging the feminist, humanistic, and, in Chiuri's case, "culturally aware" approach she brings to the brand. 

A tip from Anne: Love seeing ‘humanistic’ in Fendi word lineup. New Humanism is about to explode. Having been buried in this concept for weeks now, humanism allowed for chattel slavery worldwide. As great as the principles were and are, humanism permitted a horror show for countless millions of people worldwide. New Humanism must acknowledge that reality and we move forward into the principles that humanism failed to live up to.

As we speak, our underdeveloped New Humanism page is turning AOC upside down and inside out, through the efforts one very large and influential country. It’s not India.

Returning to Dior, I could be dead wrong, but to me this is critical information — who stays and who goes and who comes as new — will impact any revisions to Dior’s 5-Year plan sooner, rather than later. Back to Anne and her mop in Aisle Nine cleanup.

Hedi Slimane Delivered Celine Results Almost Out of the Gate

LVMH knew what was working in Hedi Slimane’s Celine in 12 months; they could see which trees were getting a solid root system. As those trees grew in year 2, the staggering expense of new LVMH Celine stores went ahead as planned.

I never heard or read anyone question Hedi Slimane’s Celine business strategy or excellent results. The question was centered on who ‘owned’ the House. Hedi couldn’t come to grips with the reality that LVMH owns the House and he frequently had a feud going on with someone.

In all his lawsuits with Kering, Hedi made it clear that he is a legal bee on an elephant’s butt, when it comes to protecting his perceived, usually contractual interests.

The House of Celine was not his to protect; it belongs to LVMH, the stockholders and de facto, the Arnault family. Hedi would not yield, demanding absolute control. End of the relationship.

Per Gemini [better than my two paid services] who is correct: Suzie Q or Anne?

Based on the financial goals set by LVMH, it did not take Hedi Slimane five years for Celine to "get its mojo"—he achieved the targeted commercial turnaround in that timeframe, but the brand’s "mojo" in terms of revenue growth was established much sooner.

Financial Goal [5 Years]: When Slimane took over in February 2018, LVMH set a five-year target to grow Celine’s annual revenue from under €1 billion to between €2 billion and €3 billion.

Success Timeline: By December 2022 [roughly 4 years and 10 months], reports indicated that Slimane had successfully hit this goal, with revenue reaching approximately €2.2 billion to €2.6 billion, more than doubling the revenue of the previous era.

Rapid Expansion: While it took about five years to hit the specific, massive revenue target, Slimane immediately overhauled the brand, launching a highly successful menswear line, a new fragrance line [in 2019], and redesigning the logo.

The "Mojo" Shift: Although some criticized the departure from the previous, more feminine Phoebe Philo era, Slimane's "rock 'n' roll" aesthetic immediately created a new, commercially successful, and distinct brand identity at Celine.