Dear Shaded Viewers,
I guess third time’s the charm.
2 months after Claire Waight Keller stepped down, Givenchy announced that it would appoint the founder of 1017 Alyx 95M Matthew M. Williams, as creative director, making him the third creative director at Givenchy in the past 3 years.
The choice by LVMH shows once again that they are betting on appointing people with strong cultural influences rather than a background in designing and it seems to have worked once again.
The brand’s latest SS21 collection was presented with a lookbook, portraying models wearing strong tailored suits and jackets, hoodies with embellishments, triple chained belts styled with black leather pants, horn heels, baseball caps with horns, and cut out dresses and shirts with layers of fabrics attached to each other which reminded of Helmut Lang’s iconic silk ribbon grey dress.
“You find the pieces of the puzzle for a collection, building it from symbols and signs, but never forgetting the reality of the person who will wear it and bring it to life. The women and men should be powerful and effortless, equal and joyful, a reflection of who they really are – only more so. It’s about finding the humanity in luxury.” the brand explained on their website.
The collection didn’t feature many logos as you would expect from the designer, but you could tell it was Matthew’s vision from the use of strong hardware.
“It’s no secret that I’m really into hardware, and that’s what I lay the foundation with when I start a new project. It comes into shoes, bags, clothing.” and smart choice on LVMH’s part, as shoes and bags seem to be the main drivers of the luxury business.
The collection made me wonder what’s next, but so far I can see multiple generations wearing these garments.
