Givenchy to unveil new designer debut at Paris Fashion Week
PARIS (AP) — Storied maison Givenchy is set to unveil new designer Matthew Williams’ debut collection Sunday, although the brand may have hoped such a big new beginning would have come under better days and not under the virus-hit Paris Fashion Week.
Like Milan before it, Paris is undertaking an unusual fashion season for Spring-Summer 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic. The nine-day calendar is flitting between 16 ready-to-wear runway collections with masked guests in seated rows, 20 in-person presentations and several dozen completely digital shows streamed online with promotional videos.
Here are some highlights:
SCHIAPARELLI’S GOLD
The revamped house of the late, great couturier Elsa Schiaparelli has been on a creative rollercoaster since launching some years ago as couture, going through several creative directors in a short time, and now presenting ready-to-wear. The latest designer Daniel Roseberry has, on the whole, been given a warm reception. And this should continue with Sunday's fare — the third ready-to-wear collection for the house — in which the Texan designer said he wanted to blur the lines between the two traditions of making clothes.
“One thing I particularly love about designing couture is how tactile the process is," he said. “I wanted to bring that same hands-on sensibility to ready-to-wear as well.”
An angular black bodice, that looked both couture and sporty, had a gathered and asymmetrical black skirt held by a large gold chain. It was a great look.
A loose ruddy brown suit in tropical-weight cool wool had giant gold buttons that were shaped a little like nipples and placed in exactly the right place.
Jewelry was, for spring-summer, in fact the standout part of the show. Schiaparelli, the house founder, was friends with...