Riccardo Tisci has been at Givenchy for 10 years and has never touched denim, at least not on the women's side of things. But—surprise—it made an appearance in his new Resort collection today, which was shown in a suite at the Mercer Hotel. A dark-rinse shirt with playful multicolor snaps and high-waisted, ever-so-slightly cropped jeans with raised front seams occupied the relaxed, casual space that boxy sweatshirts and other athletic references have in his recent collections.
Otherwise, though, the new lineup revisited and renewed the signatures Tisci has been developing over the last decade. The Victorian silhouette of his latest runway show carried over into a peplumed, sleeveless jacket boasting a single oversize button at the waist and an even more distinctive peplum skirt with generous cutouts at the sides of the knees. Absent last season's jet beading, a leopard print lifted from Robert Mapplethorpe photographs provided the collection's graphic interest. Tisci's got a thing for erotic photography; Carlo Mollino was a reference point for Fall '14. These leopard spots, like the ones found in that show, won't be for the tame. Tailoring, always a Tisci forte, came one of two ways: strict and masculine, as in a sharp jacket and trim trousers cut from a lace-textured silk, or with the rounded contours of mid-century couture. We preferred the efficiency of the former. But speaking of contour, his evening pieces were particularly body-conscious this season, with draped and ruched shoulder lines and sky-high slits. They'll be popular with the designer's celebrity friends.
