At the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles, an art deco landmark that opened in 1931 and has since hosted artists who have influenced rock ‘n’ roll music like Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Prince, The Rolling Stones, Lou Reed, Blur, Iggy Pop, The Strokes, and Amy Winehouse, Celine recently held its first IRL fashion show since the start of the Covid-19 epidemic. Guests enthusiastically applauded the outfits worn by Kaia Gerber, Dree Hemingway, and the other models as they alternated on the catwalk to the notes of Hello Operator, an original song by The White Stripes, as their faces, Courteney Cox, Austin Butler, Brie Larson, and Emma Roberts could be seen in the front row.

Hollywood glitter and West Coast flair met indie-sleaze in this setting that wonderfully captures the essence of creative director Hedi Slimane. While Gen Z and the rest of the world are calling for the comeback of the music and fashion trend, Slimane has never done so. In fact, he titled the winter 23 collection Age of Indieness and stayed true to tight pants, black leather, and other indie-inspired pieces. Fedoras, dramatic capes that may be worn over jeans and evening dresses, boots, slender ties, bohemian shirts, fringes, and jackets made of gold or silver lamé that, when accessorized with rhinestones and sequins, brighten tops, miniskirts, shorts, and long dresses.

It was a procession of stylish men and women who looked driven, were attractive (and lean), were in charge of their lives, and dressed like complete rock stars even when they went to the grocery store. The evening’s plus point? After the performance, visitors were invited back to the lobby for some pizza and chips shaped like the Celine logo before Iggy Pop, The Kills, The Strokes, and Interpol took the stage.

For a brief period, the early 2000s—when Kate Moss paired up with Pete Doherty and Alexa Chung with Alex Turner—seem to have come back to life on Celine’s runway. Knowing that Slimane would always be true to himself has an illusory uplifting quality that helps one confront the future in a present filled with uncertainties.