Celine is a French luxury house founded in 1945 by Celine Vipiana. Today, it is an international luxury goods brand owned by LVMH, purchased in 1996 for 2.7 billion French francs ($540 million).

Celine was originally created as a made-to-measure children's shoe business that eventually grew into women's shoes and accessories. The ready-to-wear line debuted in the 1960s.
American fashion designer Michael Kors was named the first ever women's ready-to-wear designer and creative director for Celine in 1997. During his tenure at Celine, Kors turned the fashion house around with blockbuster accessories and a critically acclaimed ready-to-wear line. Kors designed for the label until 2004. Italian designer Roberto Menichetti was named creative director. After a disappointing year, Menichetti was replaced by Croatian designer Ivana Omazic. Omazic was a a former consultant for the brand and previously worked with Romeo Gigli, Prada, Jil Sander, and Miu Miu.

On September 4 2008, the influential fashion portal WWDFashion announced that Bernard Arnault, president of LVMH, appointed Phoebe Philo as the new creative director of Celine. Philo will start at Celine in October 2008 and will present her first Celine collection next March for the fall-winter 2009 season, with a runway debut seven months later. Philo will replace Ivana Omazić, who, according to LVMH, failed to transform this second league brand into an essential flagship of worldwide prêt-à-porter. “By giving Philo Celine, we’re giving her a platform to express her vision,” said Pierre-Yves Roussel, chief executive officer of LVMH’s fashion division which owns Celine.