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For the most part, fashion shows serve as a rolodex of history, especially for heritage houses with rich archives ripe to be picked apart and restrung for the contemporary age. The concept of modernity that honours legacy is a feat only achieved by a deft hand, something that some would argue Givenchy hadn’t seen since the appointment of Matthew M. Williams as creative director in 2020. (Whether this is an accurate assessment is another story.) A
After stepping away from the role effective immediately on January 1, the Maison has been under the helm of the atelier, with a collective design studio presenting two subsequent collections received with critical success; a men’s and womenswear Fall/Winter range, respectively. Givenchy’s codes are as storied as the eponymous French couturier who began the label in 1952, so to mark the departure from Williams’ short-lived era of streetwear-inclined silhouettes, the luxuriate returned to the canon established by Givenchy’s innovative craftsmanship.
In the Avenue George V saloon with the Givenchy brand began, this season reminded audiences of why the former wunderkind who cut his teeth under Cristóbal Balenciaga is one of Paris’ ‘Big Five’ couture de force. To do so, the studio offered a more concise edit of 44 looks comprised of mid-century silhouettes the original Givenchy woman would’ve rushed to order in large quantities. (Adding pieces appropriate for current appetites like a draped leather bandeau and asymmetrical skirt set.)
References to Givenchy’s defining muse, Audrey Hepburn, were delivered in delicious helpings; silver mini dresses with scooped necklines and circular hoop skirts rendered in high-shine silver and rows of abstract silver beads, double-breasted blazers with midi skirts and cartoonishly large buttons, satin jackets sculpted to cinched the waist and classic LBDs styled with opera gloves.
In between these couture-inspired pieces purposely designed for the celebrity clientele was an air of wearability, especially in the knitted turtlenecks, flouncy trousers, sharp-cut minis, satin-lapelled trenches and fur jackets. This range harkened back to couture’s Golden Age but still felt relevant for the golden girls of today. (We could easily see Dua Lipa in look 25.)
As the Alexander McQueen-designed futuristic set from 1999 Zendaya wore to the premiere of Dune 2 made apparent, there is a hunger for pieces that connect a brand’s vintage DNA with fresh concepts. Here, the atelier proved sufficient in fusing past, present and future. Whether the upcoming unappointed creative director will adhere to these codes or set their own, however, remains to be seen.
