Following the departure of Matthew M. Williams last season, Givenchy was left without a Creative Director to lead the emblematic French house. The suspicions on who will replace Williams are slowly becoming the talk of the town while the brand’s Fall/Winter collection was designed by the studio team. This transitional phase in the ateliers resulted in an offering heavily inspired by the archives of Hubert de Givenchy. Over the years, Givenchy has been shaped and moulded by the strong creative lenses of individuals such as Alexander McQueen or Ricardo Tisci whose repositionings of the brand were often drastic. This time, we appreciate seeing some vintage inspirations as the history of Givenchy is not the most commonly referenced one.
Hubert de Givenchy's signature theme of the “little black dress” is brought back to life in this collection. Amongst the broad offering of black cocktail dresses, some are very 1960s with U-shaped necklines, while others appear to be more modern as they feature cutouts on the hips. The Givenchy studio made it a clear point to remind us of the Couture status of this institutional brand. The silhouettes feature heavy feather embroideries and the show is closed with a wedding dress – in pure couture tradition. I’m sure that we are all dying to know what’s next for Givenchy but, in the meantime, we appreciated this refreshing lesson on its history.
Words by Marien Brandon
