When did Céline Dion become 2017’s fashion icon?

When Céline Dion stepped out of the Royal Monceau hotel in Paris in an oversized “Titanic” Vetements hoodie, Saint Laurent jeans and Gucci heels in July of last year, there was a profound rumble felt throughout the fashion industry. Un moment… did she always dress this well? Like a phoenix rising from the ashes of the personal tragedy that had her crying on stage, Dion was popping up in the style press in outfits as wild and crazy as her inexhaustible, quirky personality. Balenciaga, Balmain, faux leather overalls – everyone was getting Di-onboard with her transformation.

The yarn is now legend, but Céqueen Dion found her stylist Law Roach by watching K.C. Undercover on the Disney channel with her children, twins Eddy and Nelson Angélil. Zendaya, 20, was the star of the show, and Dion made the connection between her TV character and Zendaya’s conveyor belt of strong looks put together for the red carpet. She Googled something to the effect of, “Qui styles K.C. Undercover?” The answer: Law Roach.

Roach was then hired as her personal stylist a day after the 2016 Billboard Music Awards, where the pair met. He began pushing Dion to the limite, as they say, dressing her in looks that she may otherwise not have tried. And now, she is the most coveted subject of the hot flash bulbs and shutter clicks of street style photographers who stalk the entrances to fashion’s biggest shows. How exactly did Canada’s most titanic export arrive here? Let’s drive all night through this truncated history.

JUNE 2016 – TAKING CHANCES

For her first Law Roach-approved fit, Dion wore all Saint Laurent. It was classy, still aligned with the previous Céline of yore (who didn’t shy away from a Canadian tuxedo), but the look was elevated. Roach was still testing the iceberg-free waters of the singer and what he could put her in. “Coming from where I’m from I could’ve never imagined that I one day I would get the chance to dress a QUEEN,” Roach wrote in the Instagram caption. “Thank you Celine for trusting me.”

VERDICT: NOT QUITE ICONIC

JULY 2016 – A NEW DAY HAS COME

After she appeared on the couture circuit in a bevy of new looks, chief among them a highlighter Balenciaga dress straight off the runway, she took the biggest chance of her career. Sure, she turned heads in incredible gowns and daylight couture, but it wasn’t until she sported a Vetements hoodie that fashion’s proletariat choked on their grapes. “I had the idea to put her in (the Vetements “Titanic” hoodie) because this year marks the movie’s 20th anniversary,” Roach told The Hollywood Reporter. “I thought it would be so cool, but I was afraid she'd think it was corny. When I actually pulled it out and showed it to her, Celine snatched it up and threw it on. She was like, ‘Man, this is cool.’”

VERDICT: THROW ME ON A LIFEBOAT

MAY 2017 – MY HEART WILL GO ON

Still, the wider monde was clueless to Dion’s new style accolades. Until about May of this year. At the 2017 Billboard Music Awards, Céline Dion paid tribute to the 20th anniversary of Titanic by laying it all out on the line with a special rendition of karaoke mainstay, “My Heart Will Go On”. It wasn’t necessarily her flawless, melismatic performance that got people talking, but the built-in flotation devices attached to her incredible Stephane Rolland Haute Couture gown.

VERDICT: ICONIC

JULY 2017 – I’M ALIVE

Céline Dion is now all-out Lady Gaga-in-2008ing with her experimental, bold choices. Zorro is snatched with this all-white Ralph & Russo haute couture look, paired with a Céline bag. Dion wore it while in Lyon, France.

VERDICT: “I’M LIKE A YEAR AWAY FROM A CÉLINE TAT” – DRAKE

JULY 2017 – BECAUSE YOU LOVED ME

When Vogue released a video of Céline Dion literally biting into the head of a mannequin, shutting down a diner and warbling at a Marie Antoinette-style vanity table, the WWW went into a virtual meltdown. OK, we give ourselves over to Queen Céline. “Is the entire fashion universe united in love of Céline Dion? It should be,” wrote New York Times fashion critic Alexander Fury on Instagram. “There's just something so wonderful and genuine and real about her love of it all. I think it brings us all a bit of joy, and makes us all a bit less jaded. Céline Dion is fucking amazing.” Dion is doing the most with her sartorial savvy, cleaning up where other canon artists are not. Céline Dion is living her best life, and she isn’t afraid to display it.

VERDICT: WOW, EMPTY THE HALL OF FAME AND REPOPULATE IT WITH ONLY CÉLINE LOOKS

CONCLUSION

Céqueen Dion has always been at the forefront of fashion, whether it’s wearing couture looks from Armani Privé and Schiaparelli for her Vegas residency or a patchwork jean. However, it’s undisputed that her tongue-in-cheek sporting of the Vetements “Titanic” hoodie solidified her status as fashion icon. Ever since, she has given the grumps of fashion reason to sing, “A new day has come.” This latest video is just the cherry on top of one woman marching boldly into that dark night, emboldened by a printed Roberto Cavalli pant suit. I mean, just look at the tweets. And to Law Roach: merci – even Anna Wintour is smiling.