Riccardo Tisci has been at Givenchy for five years now, and the anniversary provided a framework of sorts for the striking collection he showed informally today. "Resort, for me," he said, "is about making sure the shop floors are stocked with the pieces that our girl has gotten attached to." Tisci believers will recognize the palette of black, white, and red, which the designer interspersed with leopard print. (He cited Frida Kahlo and her animal-filled paintings as a source of inspiration this season.)
The shapes will give fans a frisson of familiarity, too. Tisci's best-selling trompe l'oeil jacket—it looks like two pieces but is really one—came here in plain white on top and leopard below, or masculine white cotton and feminine white lace. Extending the motif, a three-piece suit consisted of a sharply tailored jacket and cropped trousers with a built-in miniskirt. The designer even remade look one from his breakthrough Spring '10 show, but this time, the stripes on the jacket were crimson lace.
What looked novel, not to mention like a very neat idea, were the dickeys (quick, someone come up with a better name), which Tisci tied on at the back of matching tank tops. Two-looks-in-one is becoming a mini-theme at the Resort collections, but the removable collar/vest is also quite in keeping with the religious imagery that's always been part of this designer's aesthetic. The crown of horns from last summer's Couture show has now been replaced by an even more symbolic crown of thorns. Tisci's fans are so devout, some of them just might wear it.
