Entitled Teen Knight Poem, Celine’s F/W 2021 men’s show brings a gothic edge to the French Renaissance. Creative director Hedi Slimane’s fantasy opens with knights on white horses charging the Loire Valley Chateau of Chambord. A single black stallion emerges, his knight bearing a “Celine” flag. Lanky boys march across the roofscape of the massive ivory castle. The models are adorned in frilled blouses and armored silhouettes that call inspiration from French luxury while broad shoulders, leather accents, and oversized denim lean into ’80s pop couture. Every piece is decorated in excruciating detail, with embellishments of stone, chain, and silver that embody the craftsmanship of 16th-century custom made pieces.

Slimane’s Celine is regal and theatrical. Bright, overhead shots of the slouchy, but militant youth are cut with dark, interior shots that pull in close to the models’ faces. The show closes with the castle, semi-lit in the night, a crowd with lanterns trooping away.

The French fashion house’s collection is distinctly youthful, reimagining Romantic styles with a contemporary sensibility, seen in studded ribbed wool hoods and bulky chain necklaces. The approach is mimicked in the music; the show features an original soundtrack that blends a military drum march with spoken words from The Loom, a new project of These New Puritans’ George and Jack Barnett. Celine’s FW 2021 collection brings a sophistication to juvenile spirit.