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Givenchy Couture shuns runway

By FashionUnited

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French fashion house Givenchy reported it will no longer show its couture collections on

the catwalk. Instead, the house has opted for private appointments for press and clients.

The new format is not to save money, Givenchy designer Riccardo Tisci explained to WWD in an interview with Pierre-Yves Roussel, chief executive officer of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton’s fashion division. "I want to make couture even more special than it is, and not just another catwalk show," Tisci said. "People can really experience the couture moment: See it, touch it." The presentation, Tisci and Roussel explained, would likely cost about 35 percent more than the runway show. And the format makes sense, after Menkes called Tisci's last "wild rave" of a couture show "frustrating as just 22 models whizzed by in high speed." This way, she can see each look up close at length, on top of models like Lara Stone and Mariacarla Boscono.

While the presentation seems like a less ostentatious method of unveiling a small lot of some of the globe's most expensive clothes as the world crawls out of a terrible economic downturn, Tisci and Roussel also have their bottom line in mind.

The designer noted Givenchy’s most devoted couture clients, including assorted royals, do not attend the shows for reasons of privacy and security. And roughly 70 percent alter designs in some way, meaning that a smaller collection and scaled-back theatrics pose no obstacles to a strong season. Couture represents a “special, high-level service,” which the new format reflects, he said.



Givenchy