This feature appears in VMAN 49 now available for purchase

From goth-inspired frocks to daring aesthetics, style subcultures have notoriously remained in a dynamic dialogue with high fashion. Pulling cues from underground tribes, industry talents are no stranger to taking risks and reinvigorating trends of yesteryear. Now, Celine Homme is trying its hand at reimagining the avant-garde with creative director Hedi Slimane’s Winter 2022 collection, “Boy Doll.”

A 59-look embrace of everything alternative, Slimane looked to punk-tinged references and boxy silhouettes this season. The French designer’s signatures—cigarette trousers, strong-shouldered bombers, clean-cut accessories—are collection mainstays as well as the new “Boy Doll” jewelry range, a selection of silver options that harken back to Slimane’s aforementioned references. The offering also boasts a new eyewear shape, The Celine Moon, an angular frame perfect for a dimly lit rave, voyage to the future, or all of the above. The collection’s moniker is an ode to the androgyny of today’s youth, an ethos that is developed by five archetypes throughout: Cold Tailoring, Glam Punk, Berlin Wave, Emo Boy, and E-Boy Skater.

Not only reconceptualizing subcultures fashion-wise, Slimane tapped a handful of artists to highlight within the collection, most prominently the work of Banks Violette. “I’ve spent nearly my entire life wrapped up with subcultures so I have the tendency to interpret everything through that lens,” Banks tells VMAN exclusively. “I’ve always been attracted to Hedi’s aesthetic—I think he’s very clear and honest about the idea that [fashion] and [subculture] all sit on the same continuum.”

The New York-based creative and Slimane first met in the mid-aughts, and so naturally, Violette’s grayscale drawings are seen on three looks: an all-black leather overcoat, color-blocked leather bomber, and a cropped tank top. “I think anyone—after watching the past few years of American domestic politics—sees how certain images get revived and animated for a new audience,” Banks says of the collection’s featured images—an American flag and a white horse. “[They] can probably connect the dots between American knee-jerk patriotism and shuffling hordes of the undead.” And, of course, it wouldn’t be a true punk spectacle without a proper soundtrack—the collection’s accompanying film features the slow-burning track “Favourite Thing” by Swedish artist ShitKid. A counterculture, multidimensional sight to behold.

Read the full interview with Banks Violette below!

VMAN: You’ve been a friend and collaborator of Hedi for quite some time now. Do you remember the first time you met Hedi? How has that relationship developed over the years?

Banks Violette: Honestly, I can’t remember specifically when or how I met Hedi since it was so long ago, but I’m fairly certain it was either 2004 or 2005. We did a couple things together around that time—portraits, interviews, the design for a changing room for Dior Homme in Osaka, Japan. But we honestly haven’t kept in touch since that time.

VMAN: Can you take us through how this collaboration for Celine’s Fall/Winter ‘22 collection came about? Did Hedi come to you with the idea?

BV: Hedi reached out to my NY gallery, Gladstone, about possibly doing something for his Fall/Winter collection and had a number of different drawings that he was specifically interested in. He was clearly gravitating towards one specific aspect of the imagery I’ve used previously, plus I know Hedi’s own aesthetic reasonably well. So, in addition to the images he’d selected, I made 2 additional drawings that I thought were in keeping with his general focus.

VMAN: Take us through your artistic process for the three images: What was the dialogue with Hedi like? How did you ultimately land on the three images and looks shown in the collection?

BV: Really, the choice about which images were [used] was entirely Hedi’s decision—I just produced some additional images that I thought might work but the ultimate choice and determination about what to use, how to use it, how to translate it into a jacket, that’s all entirely down to Hedi’s particular thinking.

VMAN: The collection featured nods to several subcultures: emo, punk, e-boy, and more. For you, how do the realms of fashion and subculture overlap?

BV: I’ve spent nearly my entire life pretty wrapped up with subcultures so I have the tendency to interpret everything through that lens. I don’t really see fashion and subculture overlapping so much as they’re contiguous, or different definitions for the same thing. I’ve always been attracted to Hedi’s aesthetic—I think he’s very clear and honest about the idea that [fashion] and [subculture] all sit on the same continuum.

VMAN: The featured images depict the American flag and a white horse. Can you talk more about the significance of these images? What do they represent to you?

BV: A lot of my work uses hackneyed, almost cliche images—things that border on the trite or exhausted. I’m super interested in how something like that gets reanimated, and like any good zombie movie, any time something becomes reanimated there’s some pretty awful consequences attached. Heroic images of American flags or a particular kind of American romantic landscape featuring galloping stallions definitely conform to that idea. I think anyone—after watching the past few years of American domestic politics—sees how certain images get revived and animated for a new audience can probably connect the dots between American knee-jerk patriotism and shuffling hordes of the undead. At least, I hope so—in my head, all this makes sense.

This feature appears in VMAN 49 now available for purchase