Riccardo Tisci is Leaving Givenchy

[TheoG]

Not sure how valid or reliable of a source Fashionista is but this would not surprise me to say the least.

Virgil Abloh to Givenchy: Just days after Riccardo Tisci announced his departure from Givenchy, WWD's sources report that the Parisian house has already held talks with Off-White's Virgil Abloh as a possible replacement. While a spokesperson for Givenchy declined to comment, Abloh offered the following statement to WWD: "My trajectory is to update and provide something new in the fashion industry by way of creating a project and using it as a case study on how to update a luxury house." Abloh is already in good standing with LVMH, which owns Givenchy: In 2015, Off-White was a finalist for the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers, opposite Demna Gvasalia's Vetements. Hm.

fashionista.com

 

[fashionista-ta]

And the downward trajectory continues ...

 

[Kikala]

Virgil Abloh Said Among Candidates for Givenchy Post
Sources say the French house has held talks with the U.S. designer behind the Off-White label, who is also Kanye West’s creative director.

Could Virgil Abloh be a contender to succeed Riccardo Tisci at Givenchy?

According to sources, the French fashion house has held discussions with the American designer behind the Off-White label, who is also Kanye West’s creative director.

Givenchy confirmed to WWD exclusively last week that Tisci has exited the house after a 12-year tenure, in the latest chapter of creative upheaval in the top ranks of international fashion, launching immediate speculation about who could succeed him.

Asked about the Abloh rumors, a spokeswoman for the house said on Monday that it had no comment. Reached on Monday, Abloh also declined to comment on Givenchy specifically, though he reiterated his previously stated aim of eventually taking the reins of a leading luxury house. “My trajectory is to update and provide something new in the fashion industry by way of creating a project and using it as a case study on how to update a luxury house,” he told WWD.

Part of a rising generation of young designers that includes Demna Gvasalia at Balenciaga and Vetements and Gosha Rubchinskiy, Abloh designs men’s and women’s collections and has spoken in the past about how he would like to shake up the establishment.

“I have a litany of ideas that bring modern relevance, but also a financial vision on how these brands can be more successful in the space of luxury,” he told WWD in an interview last year. “Off-White is sort of my résumé and it’s my laboratory to experiment with these ideas to see which ones are valid.”

WWD.com.

 

[RedSmokeRise]

Virgil? God no more "streetwear" please.

 

[Miss Dalloway]

Wait WHAT? Virgil for Givenchy? NO! What are they smoking over there at LVMH!!!!

 

[andrew]

Lmao these established old guard houses chasing the instagram crowd.

 

[Marc10]

Well I guess they will take the Slimane-Vaccarello route here to. They want someone who can make Riccardo-like clothes to still profit from his following.

For whatever is worth tho, I find Virgil immensely more talented and hard working than Denma & co. And the idea of an african-american designer who started his brand making hoodies taking one of the parisian maisons is kinda exciting...

 

[Lola701]

In terms of fashion and for "people like us" who are a bit blasé and sometimes pretentious about the subject, it's terrible. BUT from a business point of view and in terms of coherence, it makes totally sense.

Abloh is not original at all IMO but he has a good profile, good contacts and is quite in touch with this new generation and it obsessions. Having Abloh at Givenchy is like doing a SUPREME collection with Vuitton.

He has succeed in hiding his lack of originality by wrapping it with good visuals, a very recognizable logo, a very social-media oriented strategy and a decent well made product.

OFF WHITE would have never existed without Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci. All those brands found their conception after his "Jesus is Lord" collection.

Plus, after the "woman designer at Dior", having a "black man creative director of Givenchy" is like the perfect thing to get people interested in Givenchy.

 

[dior_couture1245]

And the idea of an african-american designer who started his brand making hoodies taking one of the parisian maisons is kinda exciting...

Are you being facetious? I really can't tell.

Why should his skin color have any say in whether or not he should have any place at Givenchy? Especially when you also mentioned that he's a "designer" that makes hoodies? I wouldn't say that that is anything worth rewarding.

The times we live in....

 

[Creative]

Seamstresses must be happy. Everything is gonna be easy and basic for them... With his skills it can't be any other way.

Anyway, I don't even care about him going to Givenchy. After Wang and Demna at Balenciaga and Vaccarello at SL this seems like an organic move.

 

[Marc10]

Are you being facetious? I really can't tell.

Why should his skin color have any say in whether or not he should have any place at Givenchy? Especially when you also mentioned that he's a "designer" that makes hoodies? I wouldn't say that that is anything worth rewarding.

The times we live in....

Where did I say that? I was just noting that it would be a great achievement for an african-american who started a small streetwear brand, made it one of the hottest brands in the world, expanded the brand's appeal beyond streetwear, and now is rumored to take a very exclusive european luxury brand. And making hoodies doesn't make him any less of a designer, that's such a pretentious thought.

 

[Deleted member 130879]

If he (or any of this Kanye posse or normcore queens) steps in, I will boycott everything Givenchy. I'm done with this Kardashian/West reign over fashion.

 

[VogueDisciple93]

Virgil is more a better designer than Demna, but that does not make him a good designer. This would be poor choice. Givenchy, or any brand for that matter, deserves better.

 

[Wolkfolk]

How long do they think this Streetwear, instakids, no concept fashion era is gonna last for them to seriously consider on Virgil taking over Givenchy.


I literally feel like it's been alreayd going on for way too long. The whole schtick is now so big that it's basically a big caricature of itself. Clearly it's bound to implode sooner or later. Do they really want to bet on the longivity of all that nonsense and put Virgil at the helm of a couture house like Givenchy ?


Like Lola perfectly said there's some logic and good to it. First because Abloh has been kiki with the LVMH gang for awhile now. He also perfectly embodies this ridiculous state of fahsion and comes with a big crowd off cult followers. Most importantly though, after years of Tisci appropri... sorry referencing black culture to get Givenchy at the forefront it seems kinda logical to have a black man replace him and give some actual depth to all those inspirations. I also think it's about time that designers at the helm of big houses get more diverse. How can we expect runways, magazines and campaigns to be more diversed when there's almost absolutely no sign of diversity when it comes to creative directors ( at least at leading houses ).
Yet the problem is that this whole thing, and even the discussion that Virgil's nominations would create will just fall into a big pit of shallow buzz, saturated streetstyle trends and pretentiousness. I actually like many of the things he does at Off-White but he is not a designer. Tisci has been wack for years now but we can all agree on the fact the man is or was immensely talented. Virgil isn't and we all know that his nomination would come with a big pile of bullsh**. Fashion is already dead enough as it is.

Can we just please bring its magic back already ?

 

[Lola701]

Fashion is already dead enough as it is.

Can we just please bring its magic back already ?

No, it will get worse and worse. And if one day Hedi Slimane goes to Chanel...then this will be the real sign of the death of fashion.

 

[educo]

I don't even know where to begin...Virgil Abloh?! Aliens from other galaxies TAKE ME NOW!

 

[GivenchyHomme]

My god, what in the world?! I just skimmed over his collections and I must say I am not impressed. High fashion is out of the question. Shayne Oliver would be a far better choice. He has the skills. I'd rather them take someone extreme and tone them down rather than put someone lowly on the big stage. I'm all for someone new, but I don't believe this guy has it.

 

[tricotineacetat]

No, it will get worse and worse. And if one day Hedi Slimane goes to Chanel...then this will be the real sign of the death of fashion.

You can say what you want about Hedi Slimane but when we're talking about the actual product, most of the pieces that came under his tenure at Dior and Saint Laurent remain to make sense because they're cut and fabricated flawlessly and designed in such a way to appear sleek and sophisticated yet discreet enough not to make them appear in an 'oh it's the jacket from that season' way. This is probably why a lot of his designs enjoy a much longer desirability beyond his tenures at either one of the two houses, which is why both in Dior and Saint Laurent, they keep on re-issuing his core product until today (I don't think either Kris van Assche or Antony Vaccarello introduced anything nearly as successful in their time succeeding Slimane). It's also the reason why you can compare his 'cult' with that of people like Rick Owens, Helmut Lang or Margiela, all of which enjoy(ed) an independence from the conversation happening in the mainstream of fashion.

Back to the matter of Givenchy, I am highly doubting that either one of the names usually thrown in as successors at either one of the big houses (Elbaz, Ghesquiere, Slimane or Theyskens) really seem interested to do creative director positions unless it comes with considerable freedom and autonomy. Either that or the fashion executives responsible at hiring the designers feel the need for an easier-to-control, younger designer.

 

[Lola701]

You can say what you want about Hedi Slimane but when we're talking about the actual product, most of the pieces that came under his tenure at Dior and Saint Laurent remain to make sense because they're cut and fabricated flawlessly and designed in such a way to appear sleek and sophisticated yet discreet enough not to make them appear in an 'oh it's the jacket from that season' way. This is probably why a lot of his designs enjoy a much longer desirability beyond his tenures at either one of the two houses, which is why both in Dior and Saint Laurent, they keep on re-issuing his core product until today (I don't think either Kris van Assche or Antony Vaccarello introduced anything nearly as successful in their time succeeding Slimane). It's also the reason why you can compare his 'cult' with that of people like Rick Owens, Helmut Lang or Margiela, all of which enjoy(ed) an independence from the conversation happening in the mainstream of fashion.

You don't have to pay attention to it because it is actually a waste of time but i've always loved, followed and being a fan of Hedi. I've always mentionned my admiration for his work. I just don't see him/want him at Chanel.
He has a vision, an aesthetic that no matter what can touch you. I absolutely hate the type of fashion he did in womenswear at Saint Laurent but i own a lot of his Saint Laurent clothes (as you mentionned the product)...

As Karl recently said on french TV: "He is great but i'm not sure he is good for Chanel".
I can be a fan and still being highly critical of my favorite designers when they don't deliver!

 

[Creative]

Most importantly though, after years of Tisci appropri... sorry referencing black culture to get Givenchy at the forefront it seems kinda logical to have a black man replace him and give some actual depth to all those inspirations. I also think it's about time that designers at the helm of big houses get more diverse.

These sort of things surprise me a lot...

"Rooting" (not the exact word) for someone BECAUSE OF the color of his skin... Or when people got happy cause Bouchra and Maria were at the helm at Lanvin and Dior and they happened to have t*ts...

If a white person feels passion for a certain culture/aesthetic/whatever... that's empty. If a black guy does it... it has depth.

Okay.



And tricotineacetat, we all love Hedi (well, not all ) but that doesn't mean his fashion in terms of fashion is good. In fact, what he did at Saint Laurent is quite terrible. His products are desirable in the stores, yes, but that's about it.


Now I feel sort of sad this guy is gonna get the job. He doesn't even know how to construct a garment. I think in terms of construction Demna is sliiiiiightly better.