Simultaneously with the pop star Taylor Swift, Sarah Burton stepped into her Showgirl phase. In her second collection as Givenchy designer, Burton heightened the intensity with collars dripping rhinestones across the collarbone area, luscious peach maribou feathers, a sleek and short cocktail dress in lipstick red leather, and Naomi Campbell in a tuxedo jacket worn open over a scant lace-trimmed bra.
A New Identity
Burton has been at Givenchy less than a year, but the former key collaborator at McQueen has quickly defined a distinctive character for the house and for herself. The Givenchy fashion house, the legendary domain of the actress Audrey Hepburn and the timeless black dress, has an immaculate bloodline of sophistication that extends from the French capital to Tinseltown, but it is a modest entity as a business. Earlier creative directors had primarily focused on streetwear and functional metal embellishments, but Burton is reviving the sophistication.
"The goal was to create something seductive and intimate and to expose flesh," Burton explained backstage. "When we want to empower women, we often turn to masculine elements, but I wanted to explore women's emotional depth, and the act of dressing and undressing."
There was covered-up allure, too, in an evening shirt in butter soft white leather. "All women vary," Burton commented. "Occasionally during casting, a model tries on a garment and it becomes clear that she doesn’t want to wear a heel. Thus, I modify the ensemble."
Red Carpet Revival
Givenchy is re-establishing itself in red carpet dressing. Burton has outfitted Timothée Chalamet in a butter yellow tuxedo at the Oscars, and Kaia Gerber in a classic ballerina-style gown of black lace at the cinematic event in Venice.
The Revival of Schiaparelli
The fashion house Schiaparelli, fashion’s house of surrealism, has been making a comeback under the US-born creative director Daniel Roseberry. The following year, the V&A will host the inaugural UK Schiaparelli showcase, exploring the work of designer Elsa Schiaparelli and the house she founded.
"You don’t buy Schiaparelli, you collect Schiaparelli," Roseberry said post-presentation.
Those who don Schiaparelli require no exhibition to tell them that these designs are masterpieces. Art-adjacency is good for the bottom line – garments carry art gallery price tags, with jackets starting at about £5,000. And revenue, as well as reputation, is rising. The venue for the show was the Pompidou Centre in the French capital, a further indication of how intimately this brand is linked to art.
Echoing Past Artistic Alliances
Roseberry recalled one of the most renowned partnerships of Elsa with surrealist master Dalí, the 1938 dress named "Tears" which will appear in the V&A display. "This focused on revisiting the foundation of the brand," he said.
The shredded details in the initial design were carefully rendered, but for the modern iteration Roseberry tore into the crepe silk itself. In both, the shreds are hauntingly reminiscent of skinned skin.
Eerie Details and Playful Threat
A hint of danger exists at the Schiaparelli brand – The founder called her mannequins, with their defined shoulders and cinched waists, as her plaything troops – as well as a cheerful embrace of wit. Nail-shaped buttons and gold noses dangling as earrings are the visual grammar of the label. The standout feature of this event: faux fur made from paintbrushes.
Avant-garde themes emerge across modern style. Cracked-egg heels – treading carefully, geddit? – were extremely popular at Loewe. Dalí-inspired melting clocks have graced the runway at the house of Moschino. But Schiaparelli dominates this domain, and Roseberry commands it.
"Designs by Schiaparelli feature an intense spectacle which sucks the air out of the room," he said. A crimson dress was adorned with a triangular panel of skin-colored netting that was positioned approximately where briefs are usually located, in a captivating deception of bare skin. The balance between practicality and drama is all part of the show.American Creatives in the French Capital
A carousel of creative director launches has welcomed two NYC stars to the Parisian scene. Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez have left behind their Proenza Schouler label they created in 2002 to take over Loewe, the Spanish leather house that expanded into a $1.5bn (£1.1bn) alpha name under the tenure of Jonathan Anderson before his transition to Dior.
The US designers appeared thrilled to be in the City of Light. Vibrant Ellsworth Kelly hues brought an upbeat pop art aesthetic to the cultured artistic knowledge for which Loewe now stands. Vivid yellow slip-ons shook their tassels like the hem of Josephine Baker; a crimson peplum blazer had the confident glossy contours of a tomato sauce container. And a cocktail dress masquerading as a just-out-of-the-shower towel wrap, soft like a clean towel, achieved the ideal blend where innovative design intersects with stylish enjoyment.
