Givenchy Spring 2022 Women's And Men's Ready-To-Wear Pre-Collection
Creative Director Matthew M. Williams celebrates freedom and individual style with the graphic artist Chito.
“In my collections, I always speak to lived reality. For Spring 2022, our first pre-collection runway show, I wanted to bring together my American roots and my brand new life in Paris. There’s an energy of striking out for a new adventure, of drawing on something familiar yet creating something completely new. Chito made an ideal collaborator because we share that storyline; we speak the same language. Like me, he expresses his distinct visual signatures through unique pieces that give people total freedom to make creations their own personal statement.”
With the Givenchy Spring 2022 pre-collection, Creative Director Matthew M. Williams expands on the new tone and attitude he has established for the House by celebrating two cultures and two loves—his home land, and France, the country he now calls home.
A video shot by Jasmine Loignon evokes Matthew M. Williams’ journey from the U.S. to France. It opens with Lady Liberty beckoning Givenchy women and men to strike out in search of urban adventure and they roam the city freely in a rich, slightly Surreal layering of cross-border references. A spirit of bridging worlds — with a runway set amid a Paris train yard — becomes an ideal metaphor for the Creative Director’s first artistic collaboration for Givenchy: a playful, directional dialogue with the Seattle-born, Mexico-based artist Chito for clothes, accessories and RIMOWA suitcases. In the closing shot, New York and Paris become one.
As a long time friend and fan, Matthew M. Williams invited Chito to develop new airbrush graphics and bring his idioms to the Givenchy universe. In a celebration of individual style, essential pieces — from t-shirts and jackets to accessories — merge the designer’s sharp tailoring and graphic aesthetic with Chito’s fresh takes on House emblems. Abstract and figurative motifs mix with idiosyncratic characters such as Chito’s cartoon dog, a symbol of protection and loyalty.
The artist’s Pop-inspired Truehearted, a print of a girl and a heart, surfaces on pieces for women and men, while the 4GHeart — a fusion of the Givenchy DNA and the artist’s signature —appears in contrasting colors. With these symbols, Matthew M. Williams and Chito push the Givenchy lexicon into bold new territory.
Craft-inspired designs, such as a delicate spider-web motif, fuse notions of strength and fragility, creating an original and powerful counterpoint. Newly developed hardware elements boost the allure of signature Givenchy bags. Chains, metal beads and bandana embellishments give pieces a more personalized look, while the Chito clown crops up as jewelry. Delicate body harnesses set with crystals create compelling contrasts on both architectural pieces and fluid, asymmetrical looks.
A warm color palette, a vibrant mix of textures, and novel twists on hardware and embellishments inject this collection with a fresh, versatile, and gender-inclusive energy.
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