GIVENCHY MEN SS23

Williams presents his first Givenchy collection entirely dedicated to menswear. Within the courtyard of the École Militaire, and under the austere and elegant profile of the Eiffel Tower, a combination of modern and sophisticated elements parade. Parisian craftsmanship and the dress codes of history mingle with the futurism of the background installation, a surreal imagery, a mirror of snow-white water bordering a white, ancestral-looking cube emerging from immaculate steam fumes. The setting is suggestive and visionary, enveloping the representational archetypes of a personal and authentic wardrobe. Subcultural tropes intersect in an expression of total fluidity and freedom of communal clothing inspired by men. Indeed, it is the artists, musicians and designers orbiting Williams who have inspired him in this creative process, especially the performer Alkaline, whose radical style marks and influences the show. The study on deconstruction is the result of a long research that starts from the designer’s origins, an America marked by different cultures, (a mixture of street style and social uniforms) re-proposed for the occasion and in a modern key, through the refined elegance of the Maison. 

Among the garments presented are technical and waterproof fabrics, with camouflage motifs on jackets and waistcoats, digital prints on cargo trousers, jacquard Japanese jeans with logos covered by laser-cut muslin, and fluorescent colours on military jackets and parkas. Scraps of undyed and recycled leather are laminated to obtain a rigid structure, and used in patchwork for cargo shorts or shell jackets. The sartorial aspect is conveyed through blazers and coats in dark colours, black and grey, with wide cuts and relaxed volumes, combined with soft trousers ripped at the knee. The accessories are a mix of craftsmanship and research, new proposals include glasses with angular G-shaped temples, chains with the new logo on necklaces and bracelets; button earrings in dark wood, shiny enamel and mother-of-pearl; mini-earrings and important G-lock pendants. The rain boot returns in a new version, in vulcanised rubber and with a cork sole, alternating with trainers with a curved sole and rounded heel with mesh and synthetic leather uppers. The craftsmanship stands out in oversized shoppers, backpacks, triangle bags and shoulder bags, made using the same technique as the characteristic laminated patchwork and in undyed tones. The designer’s desire to show a first défilé entirely dedicated to men is a return to the origins of his passion for fashion, menswear being what brought him closer to this world. Study and research were fundamental to the development and achievement of his goal, based, as he himself says, on ‘an instinctive starting point’. A true dialogue with time and modern culture, an exciting evolution of passionate work.