For many fashion insiders, the appointment of Matthew Williams to Givenchy had a lot of questions come up. Williams only took one semester of art classes at the University of California, but never formally pursued any fashion training. It’s interesting because the designer, well, director, even applied to Parsons School of Design, but was rejected.
Of course, his appointment to Givenchy is one that many of us looked at and thought, “How on earth was this man, whose work in aesthetic has predominantly focused on men’s wear in street style, supposed to bring his expertise into this couture fashion house?”
Well, for Paris Fashion Week, Williams gave a show unlike any other, probably because he knew everybody in the industry had eyes on the collection. Personally, I thought it was an interesting take on the Givenchy line and a cool embodiment for an inaugural show that also has to be presented in the midst of a global pandemic. Now, I can admit that I am not the most familiar with Williams’s work. But I will say that a lot of the content comes down to the details.
Just this month, Williams teased the first look at his new vision for Givenchy with his first ad campaign, which was shot by Nick Knight and completely dismissed clothes and just focused on of accessories. Well, specifically hardware.
Williams’s focus for the Spring 2021 collection is hardware, according to a press release. It’s this detail that “unites the women and men of Givenchy, a symbolic nexus of utility and luxury and the place where this collection began,” the brand said.
It was weird. It was like a Givenchy chain link, and a lock and other symbolic emblems of what Williams hopes to bring to the table. Although I have my opinions of how fashion brands are continuing to focus primarily on accessories and shoes to simply keep the house lights on, I think it will be interesting to see how Williams focuses on the details, the proof being in the pudding, and how he lends the name of the fashion house to the accessories that so many people will probably be buying in the mass-market realm.
“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,” Williams said, in a statement. “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.”
Is there a new era for Givenchy? Who knows. But we do know that the Givenchy logo itself doesn’t carry as much weight as some of its other contemporaries. And that the brand could use a slight facelift. If that’s streetwear, however, I’m not quite sure.
The designer did pay tribute to the brand’s past creative leads, specifically Hubert de Givenchy and Alexander McQueen. According to Fashionista, it was evidenced in the “looped drapery and ‘Jour’ open backs (Givenchy) and horn detailing (McQueen),” per the release.
“I wanted this first collection to really be about the product, and showing a vision for the casting and the models,” he told the New York Times after the show. “A lot of my choices are really emotional — things that I feel are desirable or, with the men’s wear, what I want to wear myself. Like the blazer I was wearing yesterday. I love how boxy the fit was, and how easy it was. It could be dressed up or dressed down with jeans, or with elevated tailored pants that maybe have more stretch than usual.”
Of course, we still saw a bit of what Matthew can bring to the table, and we will continue to see Williams give us his personalized take on fashion. Personally, I can’t wait to see how he helps redefine a brand’s DNA while still holding true to its rich history.
