Antonella: Girl 1 at Givenchy: the defining make or break show in Paris
"It was such an honor to open back-to-back shows for Givenchy and Riccardo. To be honest, it was a mix of sensations: nerves, happiness, responsibility and adrenaline. Ultimately I enjoyed it a lot and the entire team was incredible to work with."
Antonella Graef on her Givenchy experience
There has always been two realities around the work of Riccardo Tisci at Givenchy. There's is on one hand , the passion of a very insider crowd. You had the editors who whispered in his ear eager to harness the goth-inflected energy of his clothes in their pages.You had the cult stylists who loved cultivating this secret fetish (Hi Panos). And you had the hardcore fashionistas who heedlessly stomped through dank Parisian clubs in Tisci's look-at-me statements even as fashion crticis deemed them "unwearable".
And indeed, on that other hand, there was a kind of critical condescension that murmured after each show " keep trying" "nice guy, very passionate..hopefully it will get there." Well for SS 10 it got there and then some less because Givenchy changed its principles and more because the resisting flank broke down and admitted the aesthetic. The interesting thing about that was how Tisci achieved this breakthrough by rounding up a wide range of themes he had previously explored and re-presented them for an audience that had always been skeptical about those very ideas. If you didn't get it the first time, you got it now because for SS 10 the technique behind the ideas was so precise and rigorous, because the cutting was so maniacal there was finally no ground for condescension.
The other interesting thing to note was how complex these pieces were even as they retained that graphic precision. Looking at a lot of those "directional/big label" shows I noticed there was not a lot of dresses at those brands. T-shirt shapes, yes...dresses that looked like long sweaters...the idea of a short dress.. tops and short skirts and pants...that was there in plentitude at Balenciaga and Balmain. But good old fashioned, highly evolved dressmaking from a young designer...it was masterfully mixed in with the wide variety of retail perfect jackets, pants and short skirts. It made the difference. It is funny to say "young designer" in reference to Tisci since Givenchy is such a big house but apart from the chronological designation "young" also means that that open, refractive point of view that takes into consideration the current rhythms of the real world. I love that Givenchy is not one of those burn-out houses chugging along in hermetic denial of what life in 2009 looks like. I love that the fashion ideal here is not so pedestrain, fast-fashion labels can copy it in 3-seconds flat.
I really admire the way Tisci has stayed true to his tastes as goth-Catholic-Latin--Moroccan as they are, all the way from ready-to-wear to couture to menswear. Those tastes have launched influential haircuts, the fetish for men's leggings and the careers of Iris Strubegger, Lara Stone , Laksmi Menon and Ranya Mordanova . More importantly Givenchy SS09 proves that Fashion with a capitol "F " still has a compelling gravitational pull. It is Old School remixed to the now beat. It is over-the-top and it is a domintarix's restriction. Masculin/feminin..sexy and sinister. It' is clothes you wear and everybody knows who its by. On these pages we've been beating that Givenchy pulse for a while now but who can deny that this show and this casting, in so far as it has the courage to open with an unknown and break up its cabine with the unexpected. In so far as its ad campaign has a legacy of breaking stars Givenchy now looms as THE make or break show on the Paris circuit.
hi
I love your blog! beautiful and clever.
www.karroca.wordpress.com
Paris has such a different
Paris has such a different dynamic, Couture could help... I haven't really noticed a clear stand out maker, then again time would tell us. Givenchy is now where it has to be and the hype surroundy it is just great. How influencial is CR with VP? Lara is only one of thoses girls
"F" for flash in the pan.....
i must say, when casting is the highlight of a show, i always feel that something else is being covered. up. i do like the collection and MC escher references and i ALWAYS wear black and love that hes not afraid to show it , but ti should all stand on it own! riccardo has established an identity (goth, intensity, heaviness), but when the fact that you have michelle hicks, who looks old and terrified in your show, or kirsten mcnenamy - an AMAZING model, but not a runway girl - hence the tumble at the end of the show she was in - you are missing the point. fashion shows arent just about the spectacle at the models expense - they need to have substance in the clothes and if all anyone is talking about are the girls you got to walk down the runway, you will be a flash in the pan. not to mention that Paul has said that he is riccardo;s bet friend . clearly a conflcit of interest if you are running a reputable agency and saving girls for your amigo.
calvin, dior, balenciaga, gautier and sometimes prada , when they are on form in better seasons, have been at it a long time and understand the fine art of inserting or breaking the right girl at the right time. Givenchy feels gimmicky to me and takes away from is vision. antonella is an interesting new face.... but she has been around a while (according to fashionspot she was with IMG before) and she is 6ft tall - hardly someone that is going to be able to work in everything. i think breaking a new face is just that - finding the next vogue girl or Sims/testino girl. That is something most other houses do very well and doesnt necessarity translate onto style.com, but certainly does when you are sitting there watching the girls actually walk. i hope antonella has success beyond a V magazine spread or a multi-girl givenchy campaign. She is cute and an interetsting face but so was ranya. i really do hope that she lives up to the hype. there are far to many girls that are featured in top shows that are never seen again and i think its unfortunate for the industry as a whole. i just hope the capital "f" doesnt stand for flash inthe pan
BBD
Antonella is simply
Antonella is simply stunning!
She fits Givenchy perfectly!
as long as i too feel that
as long as i too feel that Givenchy show has become the 'nerve' of Paris fashion week i need to say it's not granted this is the most influential show casting-wise. unlike New York and Milan where the powerhouses are pretty obvious on the scene of merely blank castings (does CK have a serious competitor if any in NY or do Prada and Jil Sander need to prove anything in Milan?), Paris has its own multidimensional structure of catwalks that can 'make or break' a girl's career. these are not as hyped about as Givenchy, but they still matter... Balenciaga, Christian Dior/ John Galliano, Miu Miu, Chanel. these are, just as Givenchy, the most coveted spots any new face could dream about and maybe they're not as risky in their choices as Givenchy has become, but we simply can't skip them. what really interests me is how much this feedback to Givenchy 'powerhouse' position relies on a reaction to its much-hyped ambitions of becoming one? and even more so, can it really become an ultimate Paris powerhouse in context of its recent very special relationship with Supreme office and Mr. Paul Rowland's involvement? can these two become a true market-makers if they continue to play with one another and, at some point, ignore everything else?
these are really interesting questions which are hard to address now. even more so as the whole business model in this industry has if not shifted, but changed significantly.
the show was beautiful. i'm a fan.
dbp
Givenchy is not the defining
Givenchy is not the defining make or break show in Paris
For me it is.
For you its not. But my opinion is mine to express as I see fit no?
absolutely
absolutely