サラ・バートンがジバンシィのAW25ウィメンズウェアで新鮮な風をもたらす

Givenchy was without a creative director for three seasons after Matthew Williams ditched his role at the head of the Parisian house in 2023, and while the studio did a great job of steering the ship in the absence of a captain, it needed someone to take the helm.

While brands usually have their eye on a new designer long before the old one has departed – because in fashion, as we all know, one minute you’re in, and the next you’re out – Givenchy took its time to instate someone who really understood the DNA and values of the house. That person was Sarah Burton, who cut her teeth working alongside the late, great Lee Alexander McQueen from his very humble beginnings. When McQueen passed away, Burton took over the house bearing his name and continued his legacy, and while some were of the opinion Burton’s vision lacked the bite of Lee’s, many more fell in love with her clothes – while many designers create for their fantasy woman, Burton created clothes that living, breathing women actually wanted to wear.

There’s a further poignancy to Burton’s appointment at Givenchy, though, in that she once more follows in her friend and colleagues footsteps: McQueen was infamously snapped up as creative director of the house in 1996, when he was just 27. Though the designer found his stint rough, leaving five years later in 2001 due to feeling ‘constrained’ by the house, Burton, with a few more years under her belt and the experience of leading McQueen for the last 16 years, likely knows what she’s getting herself in for. And of course, her modern approach to femininity and proclivity for the romantic chimes well with Givenchy’s own codes. Here’s everything you need to know about Burton’s big debut.

Sealed in a pristine white box, the Givenchy AW25 womenswear invite was a brown parcel paper folio bound with string, with the invitee’s name tacked to the front with a dress pin. According to Burton, a stack of Hubert de Givenchy’s forgotten patterns from his debut collection in 1952 were discovered not too long ago at his first ever maison. For Burton, it triggered something. “It’s my natural instinct to go back to pattern-cutting, to craftsmanship, to cut, shape, and proportion. It’s what I feel, how I work, what I want to do,” she explained of the discovery. And so, in the stripped-back salons of Givenchy HQ, those lucky enough to be invited to yet another of this season’s super-small, uber-exclusive shows sat perched on stacks of these folios, as Burton recognised and attempted to convey the monumental history of the house she’s just taken on as her own.

…was as a sleek, second-skin catsuit bearing Givenchy’s unmistakable logo, and the year the house was founded, in 1952. Burton had taken inspiration from the standard Stockman mannequins that litter any given atelier for this one. Some were a bit taken aback by this – under Riccardo Tisci and Matthew Williams, Givenchy went wild when it came to flashy logos plastered across everything, but it was a real surprise to see Burton follow suit. But her branding wasn’t branding for branding’s sake (try saying that fast) – it was a nod to the heritage of the house and kind of demonstrated her understanding of the creativity v commerciality balance.

“I want to address everything about modern women,” Burton wrote in her show notes. “Strength, vulnerability, emotional intelligence, feeling powerful or very sexy – all of it.” With that in mind, the casting was pretty sensational. Working with casting director Jess Hallett, Burton said “no more!” to the singularly stick-thin models that dominated Matthew Williams’ runways and instead cast a series of larger models, including fast-rising star Devyn Garcia and new face Emeline Hoareau. “That was a breath of fresh air,” stylist and creative director Jeanie Annan-lewin said afterwards, “And of course it took a woman to do it.” Though Burton has enlisted curve models to walk her shows and star in her campaigns at McQueen, according to our estimations, this was the first time one has ever walked for Givenchy – we have reached out to the in-house team to confirm, so keep your eyes on an update to this here.

Beyond Devyn and co, Burton had assembled a cast of uber-cool girlies to showpony her debut collection. Among them was Alex Consani, in a sculptural coat with nipped waist and wide-legged trousers plastered all over with an abstracted animal print. Mona Tougaard, who stepped out in a sleek, all-black tailored look, and Loli Bahia, who slipped into a louche pair of wide-leg trousers and a standout top that strung together mirrors that glinted in the sunshine that streamed in through the sash windows that lined the space.

At this point it’s kind of redundant to even point out how few female creative directors are helming fashion houses, with interchangeable identikit white men being moved around the top spots like chess pieces, so when Burton was appointed artistic director of Givenchy, there was a real sense of excitement, particularly among the many women who work within the industry. 

Largely, Burton lived up to the hype, and as that editor was overheard saying, it really was a breath of fresh air to see a woman designing for women. Not only did the collection consider the codes of the house and translate them into something contemporary and actually really quite cool, a vast swathe of it was made up of clothes many of us in the audience would truly love to wear.

Tailoring, as it ever was at McQueen was a strong point, with cool, slouchy suits made newly covetable by twisting them around and turning them back to front, while slinky dresses took into consideration a wide range of body types. As stylist and former Vogue editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson put it, “It’s almost as if she doesn’t resent the fact that women have curves.” Evening gowns cut to reveal the back and leather pencil skirts were sensual and sexy, and there were loads of fun details, from the compact mirror dress to the fun, frou-frou accents on the shoes. Burton didn’t reinvent the wheel with this offering, but she did put forward a lot of clothes that will have many saving up their pennies. And in the end, what women want to wear – and not some uninformed fantasy of what they might do – is what it should all be about anyway.

Givenchy was without a creative director for three seasons after Matthew Williams ditched his role at the head of the Parisian house in 2023, and while the studio did a great job of steering the ship in the absence of a captain, it needed someone to take the helm.

While brands usually have their eye on a new designer long before the old one has departed – because in fashion, as we all know, one minute you’re in, and the next you’re out – Givenchy took its time to instate someone who really understood the DNA and values of the house. That person was Sarah Burton, who cut her teeth working alongside the late, great Lee Alexander McQueen from his very humble beginnings. When McQueen passed away, Burton took over the house bearing his name and continued his legacy, and while some were of the opinion Burton’s vision lacked the bite of Lee’s, many more fell in love with her clothes – while many designers create for their fantasy woman, Burton created clothes that living, breathing women actually wanted to wear.

There’s a further poignancy to Burton’s appointment at Givenchy, though, in that she once more follows in her friend and colleagues footsteps: McQueen was infamously snapped up as creative director of the house in 1996, when he was just 27. Though the designer found his stint rough, leaving five years later in 2001 due to feeling ‘constrained’ by the house, Burton, with a few more years under her belt and the experience of leading McQueen for the last 16 years, likely knows what she’s getting herself in for. And of course, her modern approach to femininity and proclivity for the romantic chimes well with Givenchy’s own codes. Here’s everything you need to know about Burton’s big debut.

Sealed in a pristine white box, the Givenchy AW25 womenswear invite was a brown parcel paper folio bound with string, with the invitee’s name tacked to the front with a dress pin. According to Burton, a stack of Hubert de Givenchy’s forgotten patterns from his debut collection in 1952 were discovered not too long ago at his first ever maison. For Burton, it triggered something. “It’s my natural instinct to go back to pattern-cutting, to craftsmanship, to cut, shape, and proportion. It’s what I feel, how I work, what I want to do,” she explained of the discovery. And so, in the stripped-back salons of Givenchy HQ, those lucky enough to be invited to yet another of this season’s super-small, uber-exclusive shows sat perched on stacks of these folios, as Burton recognised and attempted to convey the monumental history of the house she’s just taken on as her own.

…was as a sleek, second-skin catsuit bearing Givenchy’s unmistakable logo, and the year the house was founded, in 1952. Burton had taken inspiration from the standard Stockman mannequins that litter any given atelier for this one. Some were a bit taken aback by this – under Riccardo Tisci and Matthew Williams, Givenchy went wild when it came to flashy logos plastered across everything, but it was a real surprise to see Burton follow suit. But her branding wasn’t branding for branding’s sake (try saying that fast) – it was a nod to the heritage of the house and kind of demonstrated her understanding of the creativity v commerciality balance.

“I want to address everything about modern women,” Burton wrote in her show notes. “Strength, vulnerability, emotional intelligence, feeling powerful or very sexy – all of it.” With that in mind, the casting was pretty sensational. Working with casting director Jess Hallett, Burton said “no more!” to the singularly stick-thin models that dominated Matthew Williams’ runways and instead cast a series of larger models, including fast-rising star Devyn Garcia and new face Emeline Hoareau. “That was a breath of fresh air,” stylist and creative director Jeanie Annan-lewin said afterwards, “And of course it took a woman to do it.” Though Burton has enlisted curve models to walk her shows and star in her campaigns at McQueen, according to our estimations, this was the first time one has ever walked for Givenchy – we have reached out to the in-house team to confirm, so keep your eyes on an update to this here.

Beyond Devyn and co, Burton had assembled a cast of uber-cool girlies to showpony her debut collection. Among them was Alex Consani, in a sculptural coat with nipped waist and wide-legged trousers plastered all over with an abstracted animal print. Mona Tougaard, who stepped out in a sleek, all-black tailored look, and Loli Bahia, who slipped into a louche pair of wide-leg trousers and a standout top that strung together mirrors that glinted in the sunshine that streamed in through the sash windows that lined the space.

At this point it’s kind of redundant to even point out how few female creative directors are helming fashion houses, with interchangeable identikit white men being moved around the top spots like chess pieces, so when Burton was appointed artistic director of Givenchy, there was a real sense of excitement, particularly among the many women who work within the industry. 

Largely, Burton lived up to the hype, and as that editor was overheard saying, it really was a breath of fresh air to see a woman designing for women. Not only did the collection consider the codes of the house and translate them into something contemporary and actually really quite cool, a vast swathe of it was made up of clothes many of us in the audience would truly love to wear.

Tailoring, as it ever was at McQueen was a strong point, with cool, slouchy suits made newly covetable by twisting them around and turning them back to front, while slinky dresses took into consideration a wide range of body types. As stylist and former Vogue editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson put it, “It’s almost as if she doesn’t resent the fact that women have curves.” Evening gowns cut to reveal the back and leather pencil skirts were sensual and sexy, and there were loads of fun details, from the compact mirror dress to the fun, frou-frou accents on the shoes. Burton didn’t reinvent the wheel with this offering, but she did put forward a lot of clothes that will have many saving up their pennies. And in the end, what women want to wear – and not some uninformed fantasy of what they might do – is what it should all be about anyway.