TikTok, believe it or not, is perhaps the most successful multimedia social networking app in recent years, and has even become a pawn in international trade, politics, and military maneuvering. However, today we won’t delve into these three aspects. Last week, CELINE Homme’s new season fashion show was live streamed, with creative director Hedi Slimane moving the stage to a racetrack, once again focusing on youth culture and presenting 59 party looks with a Grunge vibe. Besides the romantic clothing, the background music was also one of the topics of this season’s fashion show.
Dance, music, and parties are key elements of this season, but they are also the cultural elements that Hedi Slimane is extremely passionate and obsessed with every season. The theme of this season, “The Dancing Kid,” clearly states the focal point of the design inspiration. In order to complement and even highlight this season’s clothing, he brought in popular musician Tiagz, a 22-year-old Canadian producer and rapper, on TikTok to create a 15-minute version of his hit song “My Name is Tiago” for the CELINE Homme collection.
In just two and a half years, Tiagz has amassed over 2 million fans on TikTok, with his song “My Name is Tiago” reaching over 3 million views on the platform – similarly, Canadian rap king Drake’s hit song “Toosie Slide” also hit 4 million views – truly establishing himself as a rising star in the new generation of music producers. However, before finding success on TikTok, Tiagz, who used to share music on platforms like IG and Facebook, had his account suspended two years ago due to copyright issues with Facebook. He later found success by sharing videos on TikTok. Creating songs like “My Hear Went Oops” and “My Name is Tiago” was not just luck for Tiagz, a seasoned dancer who has immersed himself in music culture since childhood, using his advantage and experience to create different works – perhaps not everyone knows that Tiagz has released over 160 pieces on TikTok to date.
Whether it was at Dior Homme, Saint Laurent in the past, or the current CELINE, music, especially the psychedelic British Techno, has always been the core element in Hedi Slimane’s fashion design (I even personally believe that the number of music albums in Hedi Slimane’s home exceeds all design collections), and in every fashion show, the audience can always feel the cultural atmosphere filled with music. This season, Hedi Slimane showcased his love for Eboys, creating the typical Eboy style in clothing, and in the final segment of the fashion show, he switched to clothing adorned with LED light strings, expressing Hedi Slimane’s idea and creativity of Eboys dancing and partying at home during the pandemic. Similarly, Tiagz, who is also creative at home, producing dance music for the younger generation, is echoing the central idea, showing Hedi Slimane’s thoughtful arrangements.
Abandoning the previous avant-garde bourgeoisie designs, the colorful and bold atmosphere is certainly worth appreciating, but Hedi Slimane’s admiration and intoxication for youth culture are also quite admirable. It can even be seen that he wants to integrate the desires of the current generation – finding inspiration on TikTok, something even young designers have never thought of. Moreover, what is more important this season is to create around youth, dance, music, and fun. Hedi actually wants to encourage everyone to learn from young people’s love for fun, even when staying at home during the pandemic, not forgetting the party life character, encouraging everyone to stay positive and uplifted. Looking back, this season, Hedi Slimane seems to have breathed new life into the new generation.
