Clare Waight Keller has to cover all Givenchy bases—from women’s daywear and eveningwear to men’s suiting to utilitarian sportswear—in her pre-fall collection. We started talking about the last category first. “Arctic surfing, volcanic surfing....” I had to double-check I’d heard her right. “Yes, it’s kind of extraordinary, these amazing things people do. It’s about being with this extremeness of nature. So I’ve been using these membrane fabrics and layers; these permeable fabrics, some of which are organic and recycled,” she added. “These new fabrics have to go through so much testing to get them to market, so it takes a little longer.” She pointed out a khaki green printed recycled polar fleece and crisp, neatly tailored organic cotton shirts.
Designing to be more mindful of Givenchy’s environmental impact is, she says, “very much top of mind.” One of the ways she’s tackling the issue is by aiming to build more versatility and longevity into her collections. “We need to wear our clothes for longer. It’s the throwaway aspect [of fashion] which is destructive. So the thought process, particularly in women’s, is to have a quieter sense of permanence. And I like the idea that so many of the pieces can be relayered.”
One of Waight Keller’s strengths has always been her woman’s understanding of lived fashion—the practical wisdom accumulated by a designer who has to streamline and make sense of her own wardrobe; that endless round of packing, traveling, and quick changes of gear familiar to every woman who needs to tap-dance her way through the performances of professional life. In this collection, she’s taken an intelligent approach to tackling the extravagance of one-wear evening dressing by suggesting, for example, how a very French, Givenchy-esque black dress with gold buttons on one shoulder can be worn over a pair of tuxedo pants. Or again, how those same trousers can go under a short, strapless tailored dress to create a chic tunic look.
In a way, there’s a flicker of a memory of how Donna Karan used to solve things for executive women in the ’80s in this, but brought forward for Waight Keller’s generation. Underpinning the coats, there’s a series of jumpsuits—one of the biggest-selling categories in these times of ours. She knows why: “They’re just so quick and easy to pull on, like a dress—done!” Getting them right is all a question of fit, though. One of the styles, in mint, is a trompe l’oeil outfit which seems to be composed of a matching shirt and trouser: “The knack is that the cut of the trouser fits to the waist normally, and then it’s a matter of blousing over the top.”
That focus on practicality through design smarts is what will persuade a woman in a changing room or in front of her own bedroom mirror. Ditto, perhaps, Waight Keller’s nifty idea that her watermelon taffeta caped dress can be worn frontward or backward to give at least two looks’ worth for the money. Sure, there are several of the Givenchy couture–derived dresses here that will service Cannes and other early summer dates—nice ’40s-ish balloon-sleeve lace, and so on, for the wedding season. Waight Keller has all these categories covered for the label, as she must; but perhaps her greatest skill is her stealthy way of sneaking in female utilitarian psychology under the glossy cover of Givenchy glamour.
