I think I'm quite hard to please. Or at least I have become harder to please as the years go on working in the fashion industry (but this is normal, right?). It's only when a collection like Riccardo Tisci's current Givenchy men's comes along that I truly sit back and take it all in. I'm not saying that other designer collections are of a lesser standard, for I would be crucified for saying, let alone thinking it, this really is merely a (very) personal opinion. For autumn winter, along with Tisci, I'm loving the Rottweiler.
It's one of those collections that gets people talking; 'Ooo did you see all that dog print stuff?' and 'Wasn't it scary?' and 'Why would you want to wear it? It's a little strange' and sometimes 'I'd LOVE the whole lot!' (that might be just me). But what Tisci has successfully achieved here is recognition, whether it drives sales or not. It might be one of those Marmite moments - you love it or you hate it - but nonetheless it's coverage, not that the house of Givenchy needs it, but with Tisci's new direction, a buzz of any kind is, I'm guessing, fabulous. Any press is good press, right? And not just for Katie Price.
Yes, the underlying garment might be shorts, but we don't even question the fact that we're meant to wear the stuff in the midst of winter. It's about fashion with Givenchy, not practicality. I think you'd get looks in this stuff, which is most probably why you buy it - to get reactions.
A dark, Gothic black runs throughout the collection, with intricate Rottweiler prints - to sleeves, emblazoned on the front of jumpers, as a pack of ferocious beasts congregated at the bottom of shirts or printed onto scarves - and some soft browns and buttery camel hues crop up in tailoring and outerwear. Utterly gorgeous, if not sometimes fashionably frightening.
Sorry to go on, but this really is the ultimate in fashion for me. As for his Spring Summer 2012 collection... Riccardo, you're simply TERRIBLE for the bank balance!
