Givenchy S/S 2014 : Asia, Erykah, Maria, Riley & Dominik by Mert and Marcus

[Marc10]

Riccardo Tisci is known, among other talents, for having one of the keenest eyes in casting. So when he puts an unexpected face in his ad campaigns for Givenchy, the world takes notice. Expect tremors on this one. Presenting the new star of the label’s Mert & Marcus-shot campaigns: neo-soul singer Erykah Badu.

“Erykah, she’s an icon—come on!” Tisci said by phone from Paris. “What I want to do with my advertising campaign is spread the love. Already now it’s been three seasons that I’ve been using people that express something—they are great artists, or beautiful women, or stylish women, or models that I really believe in. It’s kind of a family portfolio.”

Tisci had known Badu slightly but had never worked with her. Still, he said, he’d had her image in the back of his mind when he was designing the Spring 2014 collection, a mash-up of African and Japanese influences. “She’s one of the most stylish women I’ve met in my life,” he said. “She’s got such a good sense of proportion, of colors.”

What may attract as much attention as the unexpected Badu cameo is the fact that all of the campaign’s female models are women of color (the models Maria Borges, newcomer Riley, and Asia Chow). It follows a season with a noticeable uptick in the use of models of color on the runway, following scathing condemnations of homogeneity in fashion from Bethann Hardison and Iman, sounding off from certain casting directors, and coverage of the issue in The New York Times.

“There was a lot of talk this season in fashion,” Tisci said. “Me, I was one of the persons who ended up not being touched by this. I discovered Joan Smalls, I discovered Maria [Borges]. I discovered a lot of black girls, and I’ve been always supporting them. For me, I grew up in a family and I grew up in a culture, an education, that we all are the same.” (He was already working on the collection, and had Badu in mind, when the first articles came out.)

It’s true that Tisci has been active in promoting women of color on his runway and in his campaigns. (Besides Smalls and Borges, he has championed Grace Mahary, Dalianah Arekion, and Daniela Braga, among others.) Does he think the world will catch up to his lead? “I hope so,” he said. “It’s 2013. Everybody’s being so cool about Instagram, about Facebook, any media—everybody’s being so open. At the end of the day, why are not so many black girls or Latin girls in shows? When you have an American president who is black! When I see this happening, it’s quite sad, I think. People can be so avant-garde, so advanced, but actually not, because people are still making differences between skin color.”

style

 

[TREVOFASHIONISTO]

THIS IS F***ING EPIC!!!

 

[TheoG]

So unsuspected, I heard rumors of Mariaclara and Lea T but Maria, Riley This is fantastic.

 

[rebel]

I don't like this campaign at all....someone like Rihanna would have been a better choice

 

[VogueDisciple93]

A fan of Erykah, but this falls flat. Like he said, he's been doing this style of campaign for "three seasons." It's just tired now. I applaud him for casting people of "more" substance and those of color, but at least make it visually interesting or different season to season.
That said, the clothes is still hideous on even my dear Erykah.

 

[happytrail]

erykah and maria!!!

 

[Lifeispeachy]

Couldn't hope for a better casting ! Sooo happy to see Maria and Erykah, it's epic !

 

[ad31214]

Nailed it. It's about damn time Maria got the campaign and Riley was the perfect choice for the new face.

 

[Creative]

Boring casting and boring execution.

 

[Laini]

Wonderful. Erykah is a beautiful, talented woman with an alluring presence. However I'm not sure it will translate in this campaign.

 

[Whats Ur Name]

Beautiful!!

 

[mistress_f]

omg i can't wait to see the full campaign / the hd versions cause it looks about perfect

 

[HeatherAnne]

I don't like this campaign at all....someone like Rihanna would have been a better choice

Sorry, but hell no! It would have ruined the classiness.

This is divine. No doubt that Riley is a future superstar. Her shot is exquisite.

 

[MyNameIs]

These images bore me, but the cast sounds interesting.

 

[Phuel]

It's great to see designers finally catching up and clueing in to cast that eternally funky gamin that is Erykah for high fashion. She has more style than any of these "it" girls and models put together on her worst day.

But these Givenchy by Mert & Marcus offerings are so bland and Erykah deserves so much more.

 

[Nepenthes]

This looks really promising!!!

 

[fashionlover2001]

Meh...The images are ok so far..not the best, but not the worst either. I need to see more.

So no Mariacarla this season? Is that really the whole cast?

I don't know...this campaign feels like such a gimmick.

I don't understand why they couldn't add a white model and still gotten their point across?

So are they saying that because this collection is African & Japanese inspired that it is only targeted to woman of color?

I really don't get it.

 

[zacatecas570]

Same boring concept, looking forward only for Mariacarla.

 

[Wolkfolk]

Proof that a great cast can make a difference. The same concept left me unimpressed last season while I loved it the season before, but these shots are even better. Simply stunning

 

[TREVOFASHIONISTO]

Meh...The images are ok so far..not the best, but not the worst either. I need to see more.

So no Mariacarla this season? Is that really the whole cast?

I don't know...this campaign feels like such a gimmick.

I don't understand why they couldn't add a white model and still gotten their point across?

So are they saying that because this collection is African & Japanese inspired that it is only targeted to woman of color?

I really don't get it.

so when its only white models being used are we suppose to think its targeted to only white women?