This past week, Bella Hadid stepped out in a deceptively simple look: a white hooded zip-up, a tank top with a striped neckline and hem, baggy jeans, a pair of fuzzy slippers, and light blue socks. But look closely, and you’ll notice an emblem stamped on the tank top, marking it as Celine. Specifically, it’s from Michael Kors’s time at the brand from 1997 to 2004—the house’s most slept-on era.
While Phoebe Philo’s Old Céline takes up plenty of social media real estate, as does Hedi Slimane’s current Celine, Kors’s has always been less loud. Yet, it still packs a relevant punch. (His spring 2000 collection, full of lime green chunky knits and beachy PVC backpacks, still circulates on social media). Each of his collections are Kors to the core, with designs that speak to the monied noughties, but with a tasteful restraint. The former is seen in pieces like a fur-trimmed brocade puffer jacket from fall 2001, the latter in a super slick pair of black leather flares from spring 2000. I’ve always thought Kors’s Celine is embodied by a well-traveled Russian oligarch’s wife, who most likely has a helicopter and an off-shore bank account. She has a deep appreciation for the sanitized-yet-elevated Western tastes (think: riding boots with a leather skirt), but loves a fat hit of the flashy maximalism that only existed in Russia’s late ’90s. Essentially, Kors’s Celine is the most luxurious rendition of the noughties. It’s saucy but it’s classic.
This isn’t the first time that Hadid has worn this tank. She actually wore the tank back in July with a pair of baggy shorts and pink sneakers. The model clearly has an appreciation for these under-appreciated eras. Back in late August, she stepped out in a playful shirt from Stella McCartney’s time at Chloé during the ’00s. Hadid’s pivot to more quiet fashion moments makes sense. After all, the vintage market has been flooded with the same heavy hitters. One year ago, it felt like every hot young celeb was trotting around in a Vivienne Westwood corset or toting along a John Galliano monogrammed Dior bag. Instead, pieces from Kors’s Celine and McCartney’s Chloé are a bit more under-the-radar. And in a time when everything is overexposed, thanks to social media and a trail of paparazzi, being in the know can be more valuable than any other archival find.
