So Celine

As I stroll down the elite Via Rodeo in Mall of the Emirates, I see Celine is among the cream of couture. Surrounded by Gucci, Burberry, Marc Jacobs and Etro, the stylish boutique fits in perfectly with its exclusive neighbours.

Inside, I am greeted by the immaculately groomed president and CEO of Celine, Serge Brunschwig, who was in Dubai to present a preview of the new Spring/Summer 2007 collection.

The revealing cut and transparency of some of the new garments on mannequins around us prompts me to break the ice by asking if such a look can be accessible for the modest tastes of Dubai.

Great potential

"We play with layers and you can have as many layers as you like to be proper," says Brunschwig who is charming and unfazed. "I think it will be extremely well received in Dubai. It brings a very modern touch as well as a very feminine one."

The Frenchman is certainly well qualified to know what will and won't work in the world of luxury fashion, having taken up the post in March 2006 after more than a decade in the upper echelons of Louis Vuitton.

Due to Celine's heritage and reputation, the invitation to become head of the company was one Brunschwig could not refuse.

"Celine is a beautiful brand which has always been very well kept and it's a brand which has great unexplored potential," he said. "When you aspire to work in the fashion business, it's one of the names that make people dream and so when I was offered it, I accepted immediately."

However, the transition from one major name to another, both with very distinct identities, was a challenge, admits Brunschwig.

Strong idea

"It's difficult because it is extremely important to erase everything you know and to be totally available to understand and absorb the story," he said. "Celine has a long history and a very strong idea at the beginning of it. The only way to be successful is to understand this and to reinterpret and recreate it year after year."

A great help to Brunschwig has been the continued communication with the company's founder Céline Vipiana, who started the brand by specialising in shoes in 1945. Now in her 80s, she still offers advice and insight to this day, despite her business entering the fold of luxury brand group LVMH in 1996.

Brunschwig, 46, said: "For me it's very important to meet her so I understand what she did and why she did it. She founded this company 62 years ago so we are very lucky we can still talk to her."

Tradition

With Ivana Omazic appointed as creative director in July 2005, Celine's designs are once again being steered by a woman.
The CEO is full of praise for the Croatian designer, complimenting her talent, her understanding of Celine and her modern expression of its strengths.

"She's 33 years old and I like to think of her as a new Mrs Céline," said Brunschwig. "That's beautiful because we have someone continuing this tradition of a woman creating for Celine. She has a very close understanding of women's needs and aspirations and she creates for that."

The Celine woman, I'm told, is active and feminine. She is someone who works and enjoys life and "is always willing to be elegant and playful".

Brunschwig paints a picture: "When she dresses in the morning, it has to be proper all day. Maybe she is working in the afternoon and she has a cocktail party at night - she has to be fantastic for both. We provide a complete silhouette for that woman so she can express her feelings and emotions everyday with taste."

For sheer sophistication, Celine is hard to beat.

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The long and short of it

Celine's Spring/Summer 2007 collection features a recurring mid-thigh length for skirts, dresses and coats, while sleek shorts show off legs and figures under fitted jackets.

Transparent and opaque fabrics such as organdie, nylon and muslin create suggestive layering and sexy silhouettes.
Meanwhile silver is in, especially in snake form. A silver metallic python trench coat, which rings in at around 10,000 euros (around Dh47,500), is a fine expression of the brand, according to Celine's CEO Serge Brunschwig.

Price tags at Celine vary from 120 euros (Dh570) for a small item like a card holder or sunglasses, to 10,000 euros (around Dh47,500) for a top-of-the-range coat.

History

The company was founded by Céline Vipiana and her husband Richard in 1945, and initially sold luxury shoes for children from its first boutique in Paris.

By the end of the 1950s, Celine branched out into women's shoes, handbags and fine leather goods.

It was in 1967 that Celine launched its first ready-to-wear clothing line.

By 1978, stores had opened up across the world with branches in Italy, America, Hong Kong, Monaco and Canada.

The company joined the LVMH group in 1996 and rapidly developed its ready-to-wear collections and accessories.

In 2005, Celine celebrated its 60th anniversary and brought in the expertise of Ivana Omazic as artistic director.
Today, the brand has 110 stores worldwide.

Dubai dream

Celine's CEO Serge Brunschwig, who has been to Dubai half a dozen times, said of the emirate: "For me, this is becoming one of the fashion capitals of the world. It will take maybe four or five years or maybe less because it's the kind of place where you are always surprised by the speed everything moves."
Visit: www.celine.com