Throwing caution to the wind in the face of the fabled and time-honoured international fashion week schedule by high-tailing it across the Atlantic Ocean and setting up shop in New York for SS16, leaving Paris in the dust, Riccardo Tisci pulled out all the stops this season to ensure an all-eyes-on Givenchy spectacular.
Staged in collaboration with performance artist Marina Abramović, Tisci incorporated avant art and fashion to the nth degree, in his eyes. Set up as a commercially-driven retrospective, now that the creative director has celebrated ten years at the house, the 88-piece collection painted a clear picture of what the designer has done for the iconic couture house, and saw him revisit his most successful sartorial codes, from gothic lace to tailored tuxedos and simplistic slip dresses set against meticulously embellished kimono structures.
Alongside the striking clothes that tread the boards on the labyrinth-like catwalk setup, Abramović directed the immersive aspects of the show, which included guests being sprinkled with drops of water from above and the usual other eccentricities. The clothing still took centre stage, and this is what Tisci should be admired for, excelling, undeniably, in putting Givenchy on the map with compelling designs alone.
Flurries of feathers and tulle continued to pervade the runway, further illuminating the light-polluted NY skyline that loomed above due to sheer resplendence, and Givenchy’s artfully made-up modern vixens, courtesy of the forever visionary makeup artist Pat McGrath, never failed to compel the audience.
Many of whom were aspirant fashionistas on their tippy-toes simply granted access out of Tisci’s kindness, for the first time allowing the general public to be spectators at a Givenchy show.
Despite all the inflated proportions of the whole Givenchy affair this season, it did succeed in showing that fashion, on the exact anniversary of 9/11; part of the reason Tisci opted to leap across the pond and not just because of the new store opening on Madison Avenue, isn’t always occupied by personal interest. This season’s spectacular was all in all more than enough to keep us appreciating Givenchy for the time being.
by Liam Feltham
Images courtesy of Givenchy