Sarah Burton - Designer, Creative Director of Givenchy

[Irere]

Shall we expect the Princess of Wales in Givenchy then?

I’ve thought about that, but ultimately, Givenchy is a French house, and the royal family is expected to patronize and promote British brands. Remember the indignance shown by the British press when Prince Harry showed up at the coronation in a Dior suit? (No, it didn’t matter that it was designed by Englishman Kim Jones.)

While Kate wears non-British “high street” brands like Zara, Banana Republic, and Gap for more casual outfits, she sticks to brands like Erdem, Temperley, and Missoma for more expensive attire. I’m guessing Givenchy has little place in the future queen’s patriotic wardrobe. And on a personal note, Meghan Markle often wore Givenchy during her brief time in the UK (including her wedding dress), so I don’t think the Princess of Wales would be caught dead wearing her archnemesis’ favorite brand, Sarah Burton be damned.

 

[tourbillions]

I’ve thought about that, but ultimately, Givenchy is a French house, and the royal family is expected to patronize and promote British brands. Remember the indignance shown by the British press when Prince Harry showed up at the coronation in a Dior suit? (No, it didn’t matter that it was designed by Englishman Kim Jones.)

While Kate wears non-British “high street” brands like Zara, Banana Republic, and Gap for more casual outfits, she sticks to brands like Erdem, Temperley, and Missoma for more expensive attire. I’m guessing Givenchy has little place in the future queen’s patriotic wardrobe. And on a personal note, Meghan Markle often wore Givenchy during her brief time in the UK (including her wedding dress), so I don’t think the Princess of Wales would be caught dead wearing her archnemesis’ favorite brand, Sarah Burton be damned.

i think burton and the princess of wales formed a strong bond since the wedding dress that it will be hard to put her off her go-to brands. she is still a british designer after all.

 

[Drusilla_]

I’ve thought about that, but ultimately, Givenchy is a French house, and the royal family is expected to patronize and promote British brands. Remember the indignance shown by the British press when Prince Harry showed up at the coronation in a Dior suit? (No, it didn’t matter that it was designed by Englishman Kim Jones.)

While Kate wears non-British “high street” brands like Zara, Banana Republic, and Gap for more casual outfits, she sticks to brands like Erdem, Temperley, and Missoma for more expensive attire. I’m guessing Givenchy has little place in the future queen’s patriotic wardrobe. And on a personal note, Meghan Markle often wore Givenchy during her brief time in the UK (including her wedding dress), so I don’t think the Princess of Wales would be caught dead wearing her archnemesis’ favorite brand, Sarah Burton be damned.

yeah I don't expect Kate to be seen in Burton's Givenchy anytime soon either (for starters, she's currently in treatment for cancer and public appearances are few and far between and probably will be so for the rest of the year) but I think the looking askance at her wearing an expensive French brand would be put on hold if the designer behind it is someone who's had such a long history of working with her and even made her wedding dress. But I do expect such appearances to be few and far between and possibly restricted to any future royal visits to France/from French presidents etc, in keeping with her usual practice.

also there's quite some full-circling at LVMH lately, Galliano potentially and now Sarah Burton (v closely associated with McQueen)? The gossip gods are generous.

 

[Irere]

now Sarah Burton (v closely associated with McQueen)?

She’s assuming her former boss’s old job for the second time now.

 

[Drusilla_]

I mean, the first time was not exactly planned.....as for this time, there's an almost 25 year distance from Lee's time at Givenchy and Riccardo provided enough of a distinct aesthetic break that she won't have to be operating as strongly in his (Lee's) shadow even if comparisons are inevitable especially given where she just came from.

 

[Irere]

I mean, the first time was not exactly planned.....as for this time, there's an almost 25 year distance from Lee's time at Givenchy and Riccardo provided enough of a distinct aesthetic break that she won't have to be operating as strongly in his (Lee's) shadow even if comparisons are inevitable especially given where she just came from.

I’m just noting the irony. We’ll probably hear it a lot once it’s announced. Beyond that, I don’t think McQueen’s legacy should be anything that pertains to her work at Givenchy. I hope she can really let go and do her own thing there.

 

[Drusilla_]

I do see it too, like you I hope we'll get to see more of her own pov at Givenchy because the appointment certainly sounds like it'd play to her strengths as a designer.

 

[tourbillions]

i think she has already established her own aesthetic in her later mcqueen collections. So if anyone hires her, they will see that body of work instead of what she did with Mcqueen. It has some Mcqueen elements but its mostly hers already so I think we will get something similar just with some Givenchy-isms hopefully.

What I'm really interested to see is how she will treat the couture collections.

 

[TaylorBinque]

To be honest, she wore lots of McQueen. I think she had quite strong relationship with Burton. Most of her stronger looks and amazing coats are from McQueen. So I would love to see her shine in Givenchy. It would be very interesting to see another Brit helming Givenchy.

 

[Drusilla_]

she wore McQueen but it was always Burton's McQueen, of course it might just have been a matter of timing since her wedding was only about a year after Burton took over but I've always wondered if she'd have worn Lee McQueen's stuff if she'd married in earlier/he was still alive.

 

[tourbillions]

she wore McQueen but it was always Burton's McQueen, of course it might just have been a matter of timing since her wedding was only about a year after Burton took over but I've always wondered if she'd have worn Lee McQueen's stuff if she'd married in earlier/he was still alive.

i think it was always because burton was there not really because of the original mcqueen why she wore it.

 

[avonlea002]

Burton's technique is immaculate but she is so limited. Maria Grazia with sharp tailoring.

 

[Creative]

Burton's technique is immaculate but she is so limited. Maria Grazia with sharp tailoring.

100000000%

I doubt they will go somewhere with her.

 

[Lola701]

Burton's technique is immaculate but she is so limited. Maria Grazia with sharp tailoring.

But she has an edge that is just enough for a house like Givenchy.
In a way, the mess that is happening at McQueen can only be good for her. She can build on what she did at McQueen and mix it with the archives of Givenchy.

She has the ability to mix sportswear and more formal wear, which is something Givenchy is struggling to do since Riccardo left.

 

[tourbillions]

Burton's technique is immaculate but she is so limited. Maria Grazia with sharp tailoring.

from her debut up to her last collection for mcqueen, the amount of design phases/vibe she was in was quite huge. and ofcourse all done immaculately. So im not sure how much more range you could ask from anyone. She can do something extremeley commercial to something extremely avant-garde if asked. Her only real problem in Mcqueen was that she wasn't Mcqueen the man and she always had to be compared to him which no one can, specially now.

Compared to MGC who practically did the same thing from Valentino to Dior and now resorting to copying burtons mcqueen.

 

[avonlea002]

For me, she had two phases, maybe three, but that was more due to uncertainty about the direction the brand should take after McQueen's death than her vision evolving (at least that's the impression I got). I base my opinion on her last few collections because these seem to show her true self, finally confident enough and not trying to fill the void after Lee, and as good as they technically were, they were also extremely similar to each other.

She is a solid designer, but knowing her aesthetic and design approach, I don't see her as someone who could bring excitement back to a stale brand.

 

[Lola701]

For me, she had two phases, maybe three, but that was more due to uncertainty about the direction the brand should take after McQueen's death than her vision evolving (at least that's the impression I got). I base my opinion on her last few collections because these seem to show her true self, finally confident enough and not trying to fill the void after Lee, and as good as they technically were, they were also extremely similar to each other.

She is a solid designer, but knowing her aesthetic and design approach, I don't see her as someone who could bring excitement back to a stale brand.

But she couldn’t be worst than Clare and Matthew right?

 

[avonlea002]

But she couldn’t be worst than Clare and Matthew right?

She is so much better than both of them.

 

[Olaffo]

I’m gonna take Burton’s immaculately sharp and elegant menswear suit over anything at this point. Glad she’ll be there - Givenchy is perfect for her and the house needs a revival asap. Obviously I’d rather see her in Burberry which would be perfect homecoming but not now and not in current state of fashion. Maybe within 5-10 years.

 

[Irere]

For me, she had two phases, maybe three, but that was more due to uncertainty about the direction the brand should take after McQueen's death than her vision evolving (at least that's the impression I got). I base my opinion on her last few collections because these seem to show her true self, finally confident enough and not trying to fill the void after Lee, and as good as they technically were, they were also extremely similar to each other.

She is a solid designer, but knowing her aesthetic and design approach, I don't see her as someone who could bring excitement back to a stale brand.

There's one critical factor to consider when examining Burton's tenure at McQueen you left out, which is the pressure she had not just to bring the brand out of the red to ensure its survival but to turn it into a significant money maker for PPR/Kering. I have to expect the bottom line was made much more of a burden for her than it was for Lee McQueen. Her earlier collections seemed to be more experimental and daring — the bee collection of S/S 2013, the Elizabethan collection of A/W 2013, the Japanese collection of S/S 2015 — than the those of recent years, where she clearly seemed to focus on showing clothes that will sell over concept.

I also don't know that LVMH necessarily wants "excitement" for Givenchy. Perhaps they just want to build a customer base that will see the brand as a reliable source of elegant, stylish, yet modern clothing, like a French answer to when Burberry was under Christopher Bailey. For that, they just require a steady hand with good taste and a strong sense of fundamentals — Burton fits this definition perfectly.