Givenchy Fall Winter 2022-2023

Givenchy Fall Winter 2022-2023 “Audrey in Toxic bottle”. Review by Eleonora de Gray, Editor-in-Chief of RUNWAY MAGAZINE.

Givenchy Fall Winter 2022-2023 Runway Magazine
Givenchy Fall Winter 2022-2023 Runway Magazine

Tags, college typo on oversized used hoodie, piercing – everything what Audrey Hepburn would desire, or how she would look if she was still with us and continue to inspire Givenchy House. Hubert de Givenchy, founder of the house, found his inspiration and admiration because of the everlasting elegance and impeccable grace of Audrey Hepburn. 2-3 generations of women were coming to Givenchy House to find the pieces, which could brighten up their elegance and beauty. For the last 2-3 years this changed… 

Toxic waste – the new inspiration of Givenchy, and I was wondering who would new designs inspire, or who would they make elegant? Definitely something that Audrey Hepburn would die for… I often walk by the Givenchy store on Saint Honoré. it’s always empty. Just before the fashion show, Givenchy once again changed their glass-windows. Now we don’t see any clothing, or accessories, we only see huge plastic bottle, in which we are carrying some toxic substance.

Such a relief… I was wondering what was about a new collection of Matthew M. Williams, new creative director of Givenchy fashion house. I understand this designer at 1017 ALYX 9SM – his own brand. He is young, 36 years old, the brand is young and daring, made for the young generation of people who are not looking for elegance and grace, but looking to express themselves in all different ways, impose themselves, and most certainly protest against the stereotypes. Teenager feeling of life, teenager way of being works perfectly also for Nike, for certain capsule collections.

But it was definitely a surprise to see when this American designer was chosen by Givenchy in 2020 as creative director. What can he bring? Only ways and designs he knows. And so, here we are with tags, dirty black, piercing and underwound dirt. Everything is its place. This aesthetic has no place in Givenchy.  What was the reason to choose this designer? To scare loyal customers away. I’m scared. I no longer buy Givenchy. Now what? I’m scared when passing by the store…

Ridiculous and unrelated press-release has been distributed to the media about “Elements from Hubert de Givenchy’s haute couture archive” reproduced in this collection. Don’t tell… even with the loop you won’t find even a slight touch of Hubert de Givenchy. What we see it’s American underground style for youngsters. Although it’s nothing to do with Givenchy, its identity, and DNA.

Does the CEO knows that a luxury brand is not only logo or name? Doesn’t he know the number of brands who unfortunately disappear due to this kind of management? Do I have to write a list? Starting from Nina Ricci, Guy Laroche, Sonia Rykiel, etc… ?

Givenchy Fall Winter 2022-2023 Runway Magazine
Givenchy Fall Winter 2022-2023 Runway Magazine
Givenchy Fall Winter 2022-2023 Runway Magazine
Givenchy Fall Winter 2022-2023 Runway Magazine

So here’s the press-release. And the preview of the collection inspired by glass-windows of the store….

“I really wanted to create a synthesis of powerful, sophisticated femininity, with an interplay of multiple American and Parisian influences, sports and craftsmanship. Next to her stands a contemporary man with an instinct for chic nonchalance. On the runway, both are grounded by a sense of reality.”
— Matthew M. Williams

Applying the sensibility of the haute couture atelier to day-to-day clothing archetypes, this season Givenchy elevates the seemingly ordinary to the extraordinary while making the formal feasible for everyday. Silhouettes are equally easeful and monumental, ornamental and practical, layered and direct, displaying Matthew M. Williams’ signature nexus of luxury and utility, once again brought to the fore for both men and women.

Elements from Hubert de Givenchy’s haute couture archive punctuate the collection, modified and brought to the point of today. Here, hardware becomes jewelry and pearls become studs.

Meanwhile, the TK 360 sneaker, with its revolutionary totally knitted form, continues and informs all with its easily worn and evolutionary, growing, changing and wearing sensibility, making the everyday into a radical place.

Givenchy Fall Winter 2022-2023 Runway Magazine
Givenchy Fall Winter 2022-2023 Runway Magazine
Givenchy Fall Winter 2022-2023 Runway Magazine
Givenchy Fall Winter 2022-2023 Runway Magazine
Givenchy Fall Winter 2022-2023 Runway Magazine
Givenchy Fall Winter 2022-2023 Runway Magazine

See all looks Givenchy Fall Winter 2022-2023



Posted from Paris, Le Marais, France.