Like every other person on the planet, I'm obsessed with Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci. The problem with the label under Tisci's game-changing direction, though, is that everyone so flips over those particular motifs and statement pieces - the Rottweiler T (f/w11), the gorgeous iris & black panther prints (f/w11, above), the bird of paradise everything (s/s12) - that they become almost cliché by the time the collection lands in stores.
It's an over-saturation: the initial runway show coverage; the lucky, well-photographed fashionistas wearing the collection almost immediately off the models' backs; the lavish editorials; the fabulous, star-studded ad campaigns. The pieces become so recognizable, so this-season-Givenchy, so overly, overtly of the moment that it feels gauche - cheesy, even - to wear them by the time they hit stores; it feels like logomania.
But then there are the pieces that just look like distinctive perfection. Recognizably Givenchy, yes, to the well-trained eye--but subtle, well-cut, a new idea. There were some true stunners in Tisci's pre-fall collection: I see it in the lines and uber-luxe colorblocking on the coat in the top photo; in the cut of the skirt and the gorgeous juxtaposition of gorgeous prints in the photo below; the boot in both shots.
It's not just trends Mssr. Tisci is dealing in, but also focused thinking.
