Played out in white, gold and brown, with skeletal patterns intricately worked in lace, Riccardo Tisci’s couture collection for Givenchy touched the 35-year-old designer’s dark and deep religious side.
In contrast to the flamboyant menswear show last month, with its streetwise clothes and sensual South American models, the designer showed his collection Tuesday in the privacy of a hôtel particulier off the historic Place Vendôme, where dresses were suspended from circular rails.
Focused on evening wear, the baroque richness and detailed workmanship reflected the gilt-embossed walls of the venue. Even lacy hosiery was made by hand, fringes were created from feathers and shoes were imprinted with surreal abstractions of men’s footwear. There was little of the sharp tailoring associated with Givenchy, but his inspiration — Frida Kahlo and Mexico’s Day of the Dead — hit a chord of memento mori, a style that is appearing in fashion and the subject of three current exhibitions in France.
In this interview, the designer explained his vision to Suzy Menkes.