It’s been a surprise this European fashion season to discover so many open-air fashion shows, a holdover from the pandemic period. On Sunday afternoon, a downpour right around call time for Givenchy allowed attendees to learn about the absorbent quality of cork, the material covering their seating cubes.
“It’s just water,” show producer Etienne Russo pleaded over the loudspeaker. “You’re sitting in a Paris park on a Sunday.”
Matthew Williams’ raised set in the Jardin des Plantes offered a lovely vista indeed, a foil to his sleek, sharp brand of glamour.
Although at Givenchy for more than two years already, this was the designer’s first dedicated women’s show, for which he decided to mash up fashion icons from his native land, America, with France, home to Givenchy and Carine Roitfeld, who styled the show.
“It’s really this idea of a clash,” he said, pointing to the freewheeling mix of denim, bomber jackets and hoodies with tweed, cardigan-style jackets and romantic blouses. “It’s what Carine and I feel is a great, modern wardrobe for today.”
There were also winks to archival gowns by founder Hubert de Givenchy, which Williams made over in his vision by streamlining them, or executing them in knits or jersey, the fabric of the season.
One could feel in the tight pencil skirts and the sharp, graphic heels the influence of Roitfeld, who sat in the front row next to Kanye West, still speaking through the mouthguard he wore earlier in the day for a spin on Balenciaga’s mud runway.
This show didn’t produce the fireworks of Roitfeld with Tom Ford back in the day, or with Riccardo Tisci when he was the couturier at Givenchy.
It also felt more pared back, strands of pearls standing in for the heavy hardware Williams usually rolls out. But it hit on the season’s dishabille trend, and there was some fine tailoring, including one raincoat.
