Autumn/Winter 2012-13 Givenchy

 



THE buzzwords at the couture shows this week have been “pretty”, “light” and “pastel”, but as soon as you bring one Riccardo Tisci into the mix, you know that things are about to be shaken up. And in true Tisci fashion, he made his Givenchy couture mark in the most impactful way: choosing to go tougher, darker and harder than everyone else has done this season. But that’s what makes him an exciting designer.

“All of the looks were amazingly worked into – beaded and fringed, featuring cut leather, they were dip-dyed and all very severe,” pointed out Vogue’s Lucinda Chambers. Where last couture season Tisci had delved into the Art Deco era, this time around his collection was about being powerful, strong and artisanal. There also seemed to be a slight matador feeling to looks; see the cocoon-shaped capes that either fell all the way to the ground in strands of leather or were cropped and densely built up with embroidery.
The colour palette consisted of brown, dusky rose, nude, black and accents of scarlet. There was no pastel pink or blue here – Tisci’s girls simply aren’t a soft touch.

Again, there was an emphasis on the eyes and the girls' faces were masked through huge aviators. This element of disguise is something we’ve seen a lot of at the couture shows, starting at Dior and moving on to Giambattista Valli and even Giorgio Armani. Are designers thinking about the need for protection right now?