Michael Rider's Celine Star Is a Magic Wand of ‘Infinite Possibilities' for LVMH

Michael Rider's Celine Star Is a Magic Wand of ‘Infinite Possibilities' for LVMH AOC Fashion

‘Obsessed’ is not a word used on Anne of Carversville. except on rare occasions. I’m willing to bet that we haven’t used the word ‘obsessed’ once in 2026. It’s time for a change.

My state of being increasingly impressed with Celine creative director Michael Rider shows no sign of subsiding. And now, I am over-the-moon obsessed with the Celine ‘Infinite Possibilities 2026’ Campaign.

Much credit goes to Charles Levai and Kevin Tekinel and their highest-standards creative input. It just seems that everything is rockin’ at Celine; that an entire team is on the same wave length. As an observer of people, it makes me feel optimistic in an unoptimistic time in American history.

Models in the campaign are Anna Thomsen, Hannah Weber, Haojie Qi, Kylee Dixon, Valerie Margareta, and Viktoria Wirs. The video was directed by Massimiliano Bomba and photography by Eijin Ota [IG].

Michael Rider has achieved much in his short tenure at Celine. Hedi Slimane didn’t leave Celine in any tattered and torn state of disrepair or slo’mo sameness. Hedi left it strong, and like Rider, Slimane moved out in year one of his tenure to grow revenues and profits.

The designer’s background is different from Pharrell’s for certain, but even I shook my head over how Rider got off a quasi-activist, values-driven career track, to end up as creative director of Celine.

Open-Minded with Community Focus at a Young Age

Michael Rider grew up in Washington, DC, with parents who were lawyers specializing in civil and family law. He studied Portuguese and education sciences at Brown University in Providence, RI and headed to Brazil for several months to write his senior thesis. Rider’s focus was dance and sexuality in Brazil, a joyful reality that many of us know is quite different from most other countries.

The young American taught English to children living in favelas there. After his return to America as a Brown graduate, Michael Rider moved to Oakland, across the San Francisco Bay. Rider worked as a teacher in a middle school for students who had dropped out of the regular school system.

"It was very rewarding, but exhausting. I was barely 22, but I felt like I was 45! I lasted two years."

Now you understand my comparing Michael Rider with Pharrell Williams. I assume they continue to have a shared perspective on the many critical issues of our time.

In My Horse Race, Michael Rider’s Celine Bears Down on Dior

Jonathan Anderson better get his act together at Dior, or Rider should make overtaking Dior a 5-year goal, with a BIG bonus attached if he succeeds. And Rider can fund a school for special kids of all backgrounds. Or he can use Pharrell’s existing YELLOWHAB Virginia school template for his school, in another city.

What a hoot!! Two successful LVMH creative directors funding cutting-edge schools. Women VICs love this kind of private philanthropy around educating all talented kids, no matter what life story they bring to the classroom.