Michael Rider Is WWD’s 2026 Menswear Designer of the Year

Watching Celine’s recent fashion shows, you can feel how much artistic director Michael Rider enjoys playing with clothes, toying with proportions, scale, color and what he simply calls “flair”: the unexpected effect of a fringed headband; a shoelace-thin belt for a coat, or — what the hell? — a length of glossy fabric wound around the neck and head, or clutched in one hand.

What’s up with those rectangles of satin?

“We talked a lot about handkerchiefs and pocket squares and those clichéd codes of menswear but that don’t feel fresh,” Rider replied. “At end of the day, I’m not going out with a pocket square, but I like flair. I like to find a new way to have some flair.”

His spring 2027 menswear show was an exhilarating display of flair, and multiple style possibilities, as was his fall 2026 men’s presentation, earning him the 2026 WWD Honor for Menswear Designer of the Year.

It’s quite the feat, given that he joined the house less than two years ago from Polo Ralph Lauren’s women’s department, and has only staged one dedicated runway show for men so far.

It’s also worth mentioning that Rider succeeded one of the most successful and influential designers of the last 30 years, Hedi Slimane, who introduced menswear at Celine when he joined the house in 2018.

Founded in 1945 by Céline Vipiana and based initially on shoes, Celine has been part of the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton stable since 1996, and was initially revved up by another American designer, Michael Kors, who stayed until 2004.

Rider is no stranger to Celine, having logged a decade as its design director of ready-to-wear from 2008 to 2018, working under its then-creative director Phoebe Philo.

He’s not one to explain his design process much, though he has offered some trenchant descriptors. “Classics with bite,” he said in a short statement released after his terrific fall 2026 menswear presentation.

“Character over costume” is another.

Mostly he talks about instinct, describing his process with the Celine design team as akin to a musical “jam session.” They like to try things on to see what gets their fashion juices flowing.

“I think we’re the filter of what feels like Celine,” he explained. “We’re the customer, and we have a collective sense of what the values of the house are.

“We make the things we want and we make the characters we want to be,” he continued. “We try it all on. We have to want it. We build on it with each other… Within Celine, there are multitudes, and that is exciting to me.”

Rider seems to be agnostic about what’s dressy or casual; austere or bohemian; sporty or formal; preppy or punk; town or country.

“Great clothes are great clothes,” he shrugged.

The designer also has a knack for giving his pristine clothes an heirloom quality, as much as they are rooted in the here and now.

Rider tends to wear casual clothes with a lived-in look, matching his unruly mop of curly hair.

“There’s something strange to me about a brand-new shoe,” he said during the backstage scrum after the spring 2027 men’s show, asked about the weathered, intentionally scuffed sneakers he used to finish off some looks.

The designer is also partial to rings, and can usually be seen sporting a beaded necklace with a personal backstory.

“This was made by a very good friend of mine, who used to be a club kid,” he related. “Walt Paper was his club kid name. Now he makes very beautiful jewelry, and he gave me this. I’d be really scared if I woke up today and couldn’t find it.

“I’m not gonna lie, I’ve never met a bead I didn’t like, and I always find it really stylish and sexy when you pass by someone’s neck and you just see a thin little piece of color,” he confessed.

Indeed, he has widened Celine’s register with a broader palette, exemplified by the stacks of sweaters, right up to the ceiling, at the showroom presentation of his fall 2026 menswear collection.

“I love color and I’m really sensitive to color and color is one of the first things that we do,” he said. “It’s really one of the building blocks.”

A graduate of Brown University in Rhode Island, Rider also worked as a senior designer at Balenciaga from 2004 to 2008 earlier in his career.

His appointment in early 2025 thrust another prominent studio talent into a plum, high-profile role.

In a very short time, Rider tweaked Celine’s mostly classic men’s wardrobe with little jolts of fashion, helpings of preppy, winks to the past and a very distinctive patina and hand — nothing too bright, stiff or high-contrast.

At his fall 2026 presentation, where outfits were mostly hung on pegs, you noticed the slightly raised waists on belted wool coats; the square bottoms of silk neckties; the shiny gold buttons on a boxy melton blazer, and the offbeat creases on the sleeves of double-breasted jackets. Everything oozed nonchalant chic.

Séverine Merle, Celine’s chief executive officer, cited a “very enthusiastic” response to the July show and the January presentation, from both its wholesale partners and boutique clients.

“Michael’s vision has opened up new opportunities, particularly in menswear, allowing us to reach a broader audience,” she said in an interview. “There is a new creative sensibility. The womenswear can feel more sophisticated, more bourgeois, while the menswear brings a different energy, a relaxed, effortless sophistication.”

She said the brand plans to continue with dedicated menswear shows, while also including a few men’s looks in its womenswear shows.

The executive spies “significant” potential for Celine menswear, even if its womenswear business is predominant.

“What is particularly interesting is how naturally the boundaries between men’s and women’s wardrobes are becoming more fluid. Today, a lot of our menswear purchases are made by women, particularly in categories such as tailoring, leather, denim and knitwear,” Merle said. “At the same time, Michael’s creative vision is attracting a broader male clientele, drawn to the energy, color and optimism of his collections.”

So far, retailers are very impressed.

“The versatility of what he has built so far has all the hallmarks of great menswear,” said Bosse Myhr, director of buying at Selfridges. “There are casual looks and pieces that work easily with an existing wardrobe, alongside more elaborate tailoring and fashion pieces.”

Myhr lauded Celine’s recent partnership with Harry’s New York Bar in Paris, and its collaboration with Reebok on sneakers, both being big hits.

“In menswear, being relevant in the here and now is essential, and Celine is achieving that effortlessly,” he said, also flagging that Rider’s experience at a big successful house like Ralph Lauren ranks as a bonus. “It’s rare for a creative director at a major house to have this kind of CV, and it lets the brand fast-track a lot of learning that might otherwise have taken years.”

Joseph Tang, fashion director at Holt Renfrew, said Rider has “tapped into an aesthetic that feels both distinctly Celine and relevant to how people want to dress today, bridging the ease of American sportswear with the sophistication of a French fashion house.”

Asked about Rider’s secret sauce, Tang lauded his “masterclass in styling, showing how personal style, unexpected combinations and a little irreverence can make familiar pieces feel entirely new. He’s showing people how to express their own style through the brand.”

The designer’s knack is “his ability to make familiar pieces feel entirely new. His use of color, print and slightly off-kilter styling brings a sense of personality and playfulness to the wardrobe,” according to Tang. “The impact is already visible beyond the runway: The red sweaters from his debut became a street-style signature, while his cummerbund has emerged as a defining accessory. He understands how to take something familiar and give it a new attitude.”

Görkem Şahin, general merchandising manager of designer men’s at Beymen Group, lauded Rider’s way of “blending Parisian style with American ease. His approach feels more relaxed and inviting while preserving the brand’s strong identity.”

“From a retail perspective, this creates an opportunity to attract a more diverse audience with distinctive, wearable pieces,” he added.

Şahin said outerwear, denim and leather goods are the strongest categories in Celine men’s, and the “Triomphe logo, which Michael Rider has reinterpreted with a fresh approach, also plays an important role in reinforcing the value of these pieces.”

He also cited “strong momentum in footwear, particularly with the Racer (sneaker) model, while loafers, lace-ups and boots are gaining traction this season.”