As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine intensifies, sitting at a fashion show feels increasingly strange. You could sense some unease ripple through the room during the Givenchy fall show on Sunday night when a troupe of looks came out in drab olive and muddy browns. Was it Army green?
And here’s another thought: Will the industry have to rethink or rename the “bomber jacket?” Several of them stalked the Givenchy runway that night, small drones swooping around the clothes to grab footage.
As a designer, Matthew Williams favors a dark, industrial-tinged chic that he underscored with a hulking, scaffolded set plunked in a corner of the vast Paris La Défense Arena. Once everyone was seated, black tarps were whipped off to reveal a transparent catwalk, the models making their first pass under the floorboards.
Williams is upfront about mining the Riccardo Tisci era at the house, reminding a reporter backstage that the Italian designer was among the first to bring streetwear in to the luxury universe. He also flicked through his camera roll to show archival looks from founder Hubert de Givenchy that had inspired the pearl-paved flapper dresses and the his-and-hers robe coats in an ocelot print from the ’50s.
Williams opened his coed display with new takes on the graphic knits that Tisci made synonymous with the house. Adamant that he “treat the informal with as much care as the formal,” Williams’ rocker T-shirts came in tiers that were sliced with scissors just before hitting the catwalk so the raw edges “don’t roll too much.”
What stood out were the intricate knit dresses with flounced skirts of hand-frayed ruffles. These were the handiwork of Givenchy’s couture ateliers, which the designer sometimes conscripts for ready-to-wear looks.
Williams revealed that he will finally turn his hands to a full couture collection, and the plan is to put it on a Paris runway in July. “I’ve been working on it for a few months now…and it’s so special. I feel really honored to be able to do that,” he enthused, hinting that he would bring some modern materials and techniques into the haute arena.
Kendall Jenner’s sheer and sparkling look at the 2021 Met Gala was a Givenchy couture look by Williams, perhaps a hint of what’s coming next.
