In October, Michael Rider presented his sophomore show for Celine in the domaine of the Château de Saint-Cloud – for the uninitiated, that’s a fancy French way of saying a park. Granted, a catwalk had been laid but it was still a short-ish trek through Française countryside to get to your seat, which is evidently a voyage Rider had in mind given the resolutely pragmatic design of Celine’s Riley boots. They’re a deluxe take on what the French call the botte de pluie (nicer than wellies, right?) in moulded rubber, nylon and calfskin, more than a nod to the equestrian antecedents of the house. They do sometimes call them muck boots. That said, these are a distinctly chic iteration, intended for the moneyed manège of the Bois de Boulogne rather than a scabby stable. Actually, nix that – these boots aren’t really made for riding, even there, but like Celine’s finest wares there’s something that connects them innately to a bourgeois take on wealth and status dressing – the French equivalent of the Sloane Ranger, or indeed an American Wasp. Call it a whiff of the tack shop, but not in the literal sense.
The Celine Riley High Boot in Nylon and Calfskin are available now.
