The fashion that has haunted and daunted many designers--namely Givenchy, has had quite a few designers in the last decade. Let us see what do you think of each designer's tenure at givenchy comparing to their own label!
Despite , or even because of , his difficulties with management at LVMH , I think Lee McQueen gets my vote . Both Couture AND ready to wear were original , distinctive and in keeping with a venerable French fashion house , and certainly provide a glimpse of what his own house has achieved !!!! KIT
Mcqueen did the best job - I suppose Galliano comes up after him because I think MacDonald's designs (aside from some in the fall04 collection) were mostly awful
For me, it's McQueen. Galliano wasn't there long enough to really choose him and MacDonald has been way too inconsistant. I like McQueen because, he did have some really great collections at Givenchy, despite what critics say. And he also did some amazing collections for his own label while he was at Givenchy. BTW, love that gold dress!!!
Both were horrible. I think McQueen's talent is greatly limited to unwearble clothing. I really don't say this much, but I realy despise his collections. Macdonald was neither here nor there. I think it is time for real talent to take over, or for Givenchy to just close the doors already.
Galliano, apparently. MacDonald did the worse out of the three, McQueen wasn't really true to the house, so Galliano gets my vote (he seemed like the only one who did not have the bad luck). Like i-D mag thinks of Karl at Chanel I think I could think the same for Galliano at Givenchy; being provocative without breaking from tradition, ensuring continuity without being boring, providing novelty without abandoning Hubert's grand legacy. Plus, he didn't really reference literal inspirations (i.e. Hepburn to MacDonald), he made real beautiful clothes (not my style though ). The quintessential romantic ballgown by Galliano for Givenchy: Monumental yet fluid, it is high fashion at its modern best.
True, Galliano did do some great things at Givenchy, but he wasn't there long enough to make it as great as he did at Dior.
I think Galliano did the best job of not designing anything that would scare the horses. It was simple, chic, and had overtones of what he would eventually do at Dior.
to be honest, i did not like any of them in this post, they were all far away from what Givenchy is all about
I agree non where really Givenchy, but Mcqueen did a some really nice things. I loved his bald runenr collection
I would say that none have done a great job, I agree McQueen did 'some' good collections there but there were also some terrible ones and he never established accessory lines or launched a decent fragrance - does anyone remember the fragrance he did 'oblique' - it was shocking Its really impossible to comment on Galliano as he was there for such a short time - it was really like his trial for Dior Julien has done some quite good things actually - its been a bit all over the place - but some individually good collections, i liked the first, some of the second and the last one - the bright tropical one was terrible - he's actually done much better than the other two at moving Givenchy into the accessories market - and we all know thats crucial these days for a big house - remember he did the macrame bags and the pumpkin bag seems to have been very successful - and bags on the runway and in cool stores (and on j-lo) i'm sure certainly help to shift the logo bags The most annoying thing is when people constantly talk about the 'Givenchy' style from the past - they are only really refering to a small point in time in the 60's when he (Hubert) dressed Audrey - what about the 70's, 80's and 90's? Givenchy really had little to do with fashion then and was all about license's and fragrance's I would say taking on that house is a massive job and needs someone with real experience
McQueen, obviously. Julien Macdonald is the most awful designer in London AND Paris. I don't care who gets the job next, as long as Macdonald is out. They could get Zac Posen, the Givenchy house already has a bad reputation so hiring him wouldn't make a difference. Wonder why they didn't get Theyskens when they had the chance.
I actually really hated what McQueen did to the house; the couture collections made for some interesting theatre, but beyond that, nothing. And the RTW was just dreadful, he kept pushing the same look season after season, despite the fact that it was clearly failing...you can get away with that with your own label, but under a house already associated with a strong image like Givenchy, it's an exercise in futility.