🔗 Share this article

On the very same day as Taylor Swift, designer Sarah Burton stepped into her Showgirl phase. In her second collection as Givenchy designer, Burton amplified the drama with collars embellished with shimmering stones along the décolletage, opulent peach-toned feather accents, a sleek and short cocktail dress in vibrant red leather, and Naomi Campbell in a formal tuxedo coat worn open over a barely-there lace trim bra.

Establishing a Fresh Direction

Burton has been at Givenchy for a short period, but the longtime associate of Alexander McQueen has already established a unique persona for the house and for herself. Givenchy, the legendary domain of the actress Audrey Hepburn and the classic LBD, has an immaculate bloodline of sophistication that extends from the French capital to Tinseltown, but it is a smaller player as a business. Earlier creative directors had primarily focused on streetwear and functional metal embellishments, but Burton is reviving the sophistication.

"I wanted it to be seductive and intimate and to reveal the body," Burton said following the presentation. "When we want to empower women, we often reach for masculine codes, but I wanted to explore feminine sensibility, and the act of dressing and undressing."

Subtle seduction was evident, too, in a dress shirt in supple white leather. "Each woman is unique," Burton stated. "Occasionally during casting, a model dons a look and I immediately sense that she doesn’t want to wear a heel. Thus, I modify the ensemble."

Red Carpet Revival

Givenchy is re-establishing itself in high-profile occasion wear. Burton has styled Timothée Chalamet in a pale yellow formal suit at the Oscars, and Kaia Gerber in a retro-inspired ballet dress of ebony lace at the cinematic event in Venice.

Schiaparelli’s Surreal Resurgence

The fashion house Schiaparelli, fashion’s house of surrealism, has been resurgent under the US-born creative director Daniel Roseberry. In the coming year, the V&A Museum will host the premier British exhibition on Schiaparelli, exploring the work of the founder Elsa Schiaparelli and the fashion house she established.

"You don’t buy Schiaparelli, you collect pieces from Schiaparelli," Roseberry said backstage.

Women who wear Schiaparelli need no showcase to tell them that these clothes are art. Proximity to art is positive for revenue – apparel is priced like fine art, with jackets starting at about £5,000. And revenue, as well as visibility, is increasing. The location of the presentation was the Centre Pompidou in the French capital, an additional signal of how deeply this fashion house is connected to the arts.

Echoing Past Artistic Alliances

Roseberry reexamined one of Elsa’s most famous collaborations with artist Salvador Dalí, the 1938 dress named "Tears" which will be in the V&A show. "This focused on revisiting the foundation of the brand," he explained.

The torn effects in the original were carefully rendered, but for the contemporary take Roseberry tore into the crepe silk itself. In each version, the shreds are hauntingly reminiscent of stripped tissue.

Eerie Details and Playful Threat

There is an edge of menace at the Schiaparelli brand – The founder called her mannequins, with their angular shoulders and cinched waists, as her toy soldiers – as well as a cheerful embrace of wit. Buttons in the form of fingernails and metallic nose ornaments as earrings are the iconic symbolism of the label. The highlight of this presentation: fake fur crafted from paintbrushes.

Surrealist elements appear across modern style. Eggshell-inspired heels – walking on eggshells, get it? – were highly sought-after at Loewe. Surrealist distorted timepieces have graced the runway at Moschino. But Schiaparelli leads in this area, and Roseberry commands it.

"Schiaparelli clothes have an intense spectacle which sucks the air out of the room," he stated. A crimson dress was cut with a triangular piece of flesh-toned mesh that sat roughly where a pair of knickers should, in a head-swivelling illusion of nudity. The balance between practicality and drama is a key aspect of the event.

American Creatives in the French Capital

A carousel of creative director launches has brought two darlings of New York to Paris. The duo Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez have departed from the Proenza Schouler brand they established in 2002 to lead Loewe, the Spain-based leather label that grew into a £1.1 billion leading brand under the leadership of Jonathan Anderson before his transition to Dior.

The Americans looked delighted to be in Paris. Bold colors inspired by Ellsworth Kelly brought a joyful pop art sensibility to the in-the-know art smarts for which Loewe now stands. Banana yellow loafers swayed their tassels like Josephine Baker’s skirt; a crimson peplum blazer had the proud shiny curves of a tomato sauce container. And a party gown imitating a just-out-of-the-shower towel wrap, plush as a newly washed cloth, found the perfect balance where clever design meets fashion fun.