Lingerie and Tailoring at Givenchy

Givenchy, SS16, New York.

The Givenchy Spring-Summer 2016 collection combined the silky sensuality of lingerie with the strictness of tailoring topped off with lashings of embellishment.

The lingerie references came through with laces, soft tulles and embroidery with touches of lingerie hardware such as bra strap adjusters. Many pieces of lingerie also feature soft angular panelling to cup the curves of the body, and some of the garments in the collection appeared to build from these types of panel lines, expanding into unusual cuts, fullness and monochrome spliced panels. The silky, lacy pieces in the collection also often used an awareness of gravity in different ways and this carried through to the tailored pieces. Fabrics were draped and wrapped around the body, hanging from straps or gathered into ruched details to create layers of lace and embroidery. These pieces were then layered with deconstructed jackets that sat somewhere between a tuxedo and a dressing gown, cut to split open and fall off the shoulders of the models.

The classically tailored garments in the collection included traditional details such as pick stitched shawl lapels and beautifully cut vests. Metallic and satin contrasts were also used to add shine to some of the collars, pocket welts and patch pockets of the men’s pieces. Touches of lacy softness were brought to one look with a white on white shirt and tie while a laser-cut leather in black on black also seemed to be used to create a reverse lace design on a tie.

For the gowns of the collection the use of fabric layering appeared to shrink in scale but intensify in quantity, with tiny sheer circles creating gradients of embellishment that blended from opaque to transparent, spreading like a growth over the models faces and clothes. The use of embellishment in the styling of the models appeared to have an almost ritualistic, mask-like connotation steering the dresses clear of just being red carpet fodder. Less celebrity, more high priestess.