New designer for France’s Celine

Just months after Michael Kors took his last bow at Celine, the French fashion house has a new designer: Roberto Menichetti.

Since 2002, the 37-year-old Italian American has been working on his own label of pared-down leather jackets and skirts, which he showed in New York in February. Before that, he designed for Burberry from 1998 to 2001, helping to spur that luxury label’s turnaround.

With 100 stores worldwide, including a Rodeo Drive address, Celine is owned by French luxury conglomerate Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton. The house has had retail successes with the boxy “boogie bag,” last spring’s wait-listed gold disc chandelier earrings, and hibiscus-print evening gowns in stores now.

Kors designed for the label for six years, and left because his contract expired. Menichetti, whose style is decidedly more minimalist, is expected to present his first Celine collection in Paris in October.

Booth Moore