Givenchy FW23: the new contemporary man

After Alyx fashion show in Milan, Matthew Williams continues to bring his own vision of masculine sophistication to Givenchy FW23. This season, Williams constructs and deconstructs garments, aiming to establish a new vision of the contemporary man.

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On a soundtrack created and produced specifically for the occasion by the musician Bakar, the show starts slow, elegant, giving way to the classic side of Givenchy. Classic tailoring built with the strictest discipline in the Haute Couture atelier presents radical cuts at the cuff and hem.

But the Givenchy man does not have only one register and the proposal drifts to a more subversive and contemporary facet. Williams here plays with the deconstruction of the pieces and superimposing layers and prints. The departure from the conventional silhouette prompts a reconstruction of the Givenchy wardrobe in his FW23. The new Givenchy man’s look is expressed in cropped cargo pants, open and transformed into skirts worn over the same pants. Recurring throughout the collection, the silhouette evokes a 1960 photograph of Hubert de Givenchy with a sweater tied around his jeans, like a skirt.

The most archetypal of tailoring and technical clothing is mixed with exuberant motifs. The materials are the result of textile experimentation used as a way to evolve the traditional codes of men’s fashion. The Japanese boro technique reconstructs the denim fabric of pants. A goose down sweatshirt is made by hand; and metallic colors are achieved by different dyeing techniques on polyurethane-coated nylon garments.

Women’s accessories are adapted in order to establish a direct dialogue between Givenchy’s men’s and women’s sections. The ‘Pandora’ model, traditionally for women, is created in several sizes and reinterpreted in the collection’s materials, as are the gloves.

In short, Givenchy FW23 is the natural evolution, at least for Williams, of the French house’s sartorial virtues. It is an appreciation of traditional techniques perfected with the aim of adapting it to the new times.

For those who are used to seeing the more traditional side of the Givenchy man’s silhouette, Williams’ work may seem sacrilegious. On the other hand, those who have an eye on the future and the different possibilities that the fashion industry offers today, will see that Matthew Williams’ work is the smartest way to evolve.