GIVENCHY FALL 2012 COUTURE

At this years Paris Couture week, Riccardo Tisci certainly shook things up. Throughout the week words like ‘pastel’ and ‘pretty’ had been heavily used but this was not the case when it came to the Givenchy fall 2012 couture show.

In true Tisci style he made his Givenchy fall 2012 couture collection his most impactful yet, which is why today he is regarded as such an exciting designer. This season Tisci chose to go far darker, tougher and harder, turning his beautiful models into fearless warriors.

Tisci’s fall 2012 couture collection explored the gypsy world, particularly present day gypsies, which you can encounter in Southern Italy, the homeland of Riccardo Tisci himself. This was easily seen through capes and the heavy use of fringing and passementerie.

Tisci also explored and incorporated his idea of the 1960’s, with ladylike simple lines in beige. His show was a reduced presentation of just 10 looks, which worked well in his favour as this gave him the time to concentrate on incredible attention to detail and handwork on each piece.

Each look was amazingly worked into with beading and fringing that included cut leather, which only emphasised the feeling of power and strength.

Full- length cape-like dresses were at the heart of the collection, with some looks including bolero’s which then fell dramatically into capes at the back. Other looks included a backless halter dress with intricate passementerie inside the train while another model was the ultimate warrior in a cocoon-shaped cape that fell to the floor in strands of leather.

The use of passementerie was a highlight throughout the collection and complimented the colour palette of black, red, brown and beige. Some models wore huge aviators, which only intensified each bold and strong look creating the element of disguise.

- Alexandria Hall