Givenchy, fw10
Read my review of Givenchy Fall Winter 2010 here.
I was privileged to sit in and contribute to an interview between Riccardo Tisci and Maxime Büchi from Sang Bleu magazine in Paris last month, barely minutes after the Givenchy Fall Winter show for 2010 in La Sorbonne in Paris (to see my coverage of the show please click here). Between us, among many topics, we discussed Riccardo’s A MAGAZINE (as the interview has been first published on the A BLOG), the role of media in fashion today, and Riccardo’s views on a male muse.
Below is Maxime’s recount of the events – with a direct and personal interview approach which Riccardo appreciated and that allowed much positive discussion and mutual understanding. [My two cents is at the end!]
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Riccardo Tisci’s work is laced with an impalpable force. His creations induce within me visions of Santerian altars and ritual trances. I won’t be mad at someone objecting that his shirts are nice to wear at a business meeting, and that there doesn’t seem to be much else to it. It may be that my perspective is biased: I really got to know Tisci’s world through his issue of A Magazine, and one will admit, it generally sailed fairly remotely from the safe shores of corporate offices and the rosewood helm of Hollywood entertainers.
It was one day this winter that the postman brought me another tangible sign that there may actually be more to Tisci’s work than starched collars and magnificent marabou feather dresses. What the postman delivered was a Christmas gift from the Givenchy office – an oversized, t-shirt screen-printed with the silhouette of a dismembered boy and three stars. As I unfolded the pleasant surprise from its white patent cardboard box and held it in front of me, the vision of the Paul Barnes-designed Givenchy logo hovering above the truncated body suddenly summarized that underlying awkwardness I always felt in Tisci’s work. The spell was cast like chicken foot.
So when Jean l’Olivier of A Magazine asked me to interview Riccardo Tisci after the men’s Fall Winter 2010 show, beyond the thrill and honour such an encounter might be for me, it somehow it felt natural – like it was the natural course of things.
* * *
When I enter the room, I am accompanied by Dan Thawley, enthusiastic ambassador of the ‘A’ empire, and faithful disciple of Jean, its benevolent first minister.
(Greetings & introductions)
Maxime Büchi:
I would like to start with what touches me the most in your creation, and especially that one particular experience I had. This t-shirt I received. I wonder how can you do this. Can you tell us about that twist, that “dark side”—or let’s just call it “flip side” that your creation seems to have. Where does it come from, how does it relate to you and what creative process leads to such a product?
Riccardo Tisci:
My work process at Givenchy is very intense. Day after day, we research a lot, but at the same time my approach is emotional. I do not base myself on what has been done. I am a very careful person, but in the end, my work in based on emotion and not reinterpretation. Especially in these days, it is hard to find emotion and inspiration. Not only in fashion. In music, arts, society in general. When I find something I like, I explore it throughout, I dig deep, without considering what the reactions might be. I am not scared. That is the way I work: drawing inspiration and emotion from my travels, my friends, my family. My work then expresses my vision and my vision, like it or not, is pretty dark. I am a happy but dark person. It comes from my origins, the way I was brought up in the south of Italy where religion is omnipresent. Football, sex and religion, that’s the Italian way, you know. Religion has always been near me, like my family. We never had much money, so I saw I grew up tough. So those are the ingredients of my creation: a certain latin romanticism and a necessary toughness of who I am. But without being ugly. So that’s where the darkness lies. But it is a soft one, especially for menswear.
Now regarding this collection, it is the one I prefer so far, because it is not about shocking. It brings together a sense of tailoring that I have been developing for a long time, but still with that identity we were talking about. Also because of its theme — Jesus Christ — I left aside the embroideries and the in-your-face-ness of my past collections for a much purer street meets couture spirit.
MB:
Speaking of streetwear, can you tell us more about how what is your relation to it and in extension to that, who is the ‘Givenchy man’?
RT:
For a while, I couldn’t answer that because I was concentrated on developing the woman, but here it is: the ‘Givenchy man’ is a Latin man. It is who I am as well. It might sound strange for a French house, but there is something about the heart of the Latino that I love. And then there is the strong body language. The latin man is proud and masculin, but is not afraid to have feminine facets in the way he dresses. You can see it illustrated in the casting of the shows. I explore the menswear world farther show season after season. Every item is the encounter of so-called streetwear—the trainers, the clothes I wear—and elegance. It is the twist. There are many beautiful shirts, coats, suits on the market. How do you come up with something that will be new, that will stand out, but still be wearable? Is is a particularly challenging in menswear.
MB:
I just saw Chris Brown at the show. Would you be interested to work with RnB singers or such? (NB: Obviously, we are talking about menswear. We already know Tisci has worked with RnB singer Ciara in the past.)
RT:
When I arrived a few years ago, there was the legacy of Givenchy himself — a genius — I had to close the doors in order to appropriate the company, get comfortable with my position, but I don’t “close the box” anymore. RnB and Rap are maybe less “me”, music-wise, but the world is very much like mine. The self-confidence, not being scared of anything. I love dodgy people, dodgy situations! The obsession of beauty. Menswear is being developed now, but if you consider womenswear, I have been consistently working with a group of women. Not many, I like it like that. We remain close and faithful. I am now extending this to menswear. You know, I dress women from Courtney Love to Madonna. Different identities, different worlds, but the same strength. It applies to men too. The people I surround myself with, the people who attend to my show, him (Chris Brown), whoever, they have that strength too. They can be Punks, Hip Hop, whatever, I don’t judge them by the way they look, but by the emotion they carry and provoke in me. And I like them because they’re strong, even if some of them are a bit dangerous — which attracts me very much!
MB:
And, like you have these strong women around you, do you have a male muse?
RT:
I am building it. It is difficult because everybody is trying to be skinny, delicate, whereas my man is rough and tough. Reason why my casting is so exclusive. I cast in Puerto Rico, etc. Latinos have now become trendy in fashion, but not when I started. Already then, most of the boys came from other countries. So as for now, I am still construction the picture of my real muse.
MB:
I was also interested in approaching the question of media in fashion. I was very impressed by the work you did for A Magazine. It could have been the common “arty-fashion”, but instead it was a real dense and serious editorial work, way beyond fashion. How did come up with all these things and generally, what do you expect from a fashion-orientated medium?
RT:
The experience was fantastic, but tough, also for the people around me at Givenchy! (laughs) One of my best experiences actually. I have a tight schedule, but when I give, I give 100%! I wanted to approach it in a different way. It is easy to do yourself, you do it everyday, but to see someone else doing you… Brief them… Is much more challenging. I selected people among my close, talented friends and family and asked to illustrate our friendship. I wanted people from all kind of worlds, photographers, artists, transsexuals, It was a big success because of the intense injection of real creative emotion. Which is something I miss in the media. Today it’s all about business. And I understand that, because what makes allows us to do what we do, but the work I did with A was the real me.
Nowadays, what misses in the media is the possibility to really express yourself. And also the need to stop looking at each other. They end up all looking the same. I used to read lots of magazines, but not anymore. Today,they all look in the same direction. I am a leo and I like to go counter-current. Like bringing the gymnast of Rio de Janerio in a world of skinny boys, you know! Media should stop copying each other and develop their own identities.
Dan Thawley:
I feel it is what you did for your A Magazine. It is so different to all the others, you have such an amazing list of contributors…
RT:
Absolutely. Another thing that annoys me in mass medias is the run for novelty and the quickly out-dating content. Like it or not, what I did with A is not about a trend, or who’s inside. You can read it again in 10 years, it is all about expression emotions, page after page, and that’s permanent. People went crazy from Courtney love to my transsexual friend or that rockabilly guy. Like Maria Carla making photography while she’s a model! Turn things upside down, that’s what I like. Express emotions. That was the keyword.
MB & DT:
Thank you very much Riccardo!
(Greetings)
Image above: Simon Nessman walks in Givenchy Fall Winter 2010 in La Sorbonne, Paris. Photographed by myself, Dan Thawley.
