Matthew M. Williams was about to deliver his next gambit in a Givenchy tenure which, despite being an enormous opportunity, did not at its offset see him fulfill the potential of his ability. Creditably, the house persevered. Pre-show I overheard talk which I possibly shouldn’t have that sales of its Voyou bags have recently doubled. The collections have certainly improved. His spring men’s show on Thursday was perhaps light on fashion fireworks, but chockablock with superb, interesting clothes.
There was a pleasing languor to his full-legged pants crumpling over chunky dress shoes, or his new lowrider sneakers, and a spine-stiffening rigor in his sharp-shouldered, minimalist tuxedos or sleeveless jumpsuits for evening.
He had dialed down the branding to a subtle script embroidery of Givenchy 1952 on a shrunken blouson, and his penchant for hardware to flat silver studs scattered over a technical parka and pants, and oversized grommets adding ventilation and a visual punch to long white T-shirts.
