Givenchy SS15
Monochrome can be something so overused in the industry yet possesses an ability to send a powerful message. The name Tisci shouldn't sound French to anyone who knows Givenchy - after he has taken over Julien Macdonald's role as Creative Director of the luxury Parisian powerhouse.
To humans of the 21st Century, Givenchy is known as the mastermind behind the mutant bambi, patchwork madonna florals, rottweiler tees and star-studded high-top sneakers. Though it wasn't until my high school presentation that I chose to talk about Tisci and especially the power that he has created - the Givenchy Gang. Tisci is not only known to be a designer who builds the new Givenchy image but also his way to people. He's known to connect influential celebrities - so don't be surprised to tête-à-têtes like 'oh you know him/her from Tisci?'
His early collections for Givenchy Women RTW were heavily criticised due to his overly gothic character and his Catholic 'haunted' collections (he is Catholic and apparently prays before every show). Though he has a dark side to him, Tisci hates being tagged as a goth or emo. And studying his collections will allow you to understand Tisci's influence on Givenchy. Not dark and boring - but rather romantic.
For SS15 menswear, I felt, for the first time, that Tisci has dropped his romantic bomb and got rid of all the mutated madonnas from his previous hyped collections (on the runway). A comment came rather ironic on NOWFASHION where a man described the collection to be 'futuristic but colours very uncool'. Truth is colour is rare for the Givenchy women, though do look at Givenchy SS12 menswear where you will find greens as rich as the Amazon rainforest and SS14 menswear as in stripes of African tribes.
The discussion of colour is immature for Givenchy. So after discovering the flowers from the SS15 collection were known to be 'baby's breath a.k.a gypsophila', it was a natural call to Tisci's romantic character. Adding onto its multi-pocket utility trousers and high ankle boots, the straight lines only gave a nod towards the collection's military aspect and towards his direction to street couture. Though some reviews have came across to editors, once again, to be less striking than the usual collections, Tisci has turned a new direction. All may be a possible intention to mark his 10-year anniversary at the maison.
Photos by Josephine Cheng.
