“You find the pieces of the puzzle for a collection, building it from symbols and signs, but never forgetting the reality of the person who will wear it and bring it to life. The women and men should be powerful and effortless, equal and joyful, a reflection of who they really are – only more so. It’s about finding the humanity in luxury.” Matthew M. Williams, Creative Director, Givenchy

Matthew M. Williams unveiled his debut collection for Givenchy, during Paris Fashion Week.

‘Hardware’ is key in this collection. Eschewing, gendered notions of jewelry and accessories, rather it is hardware that unites the women and men of Givenchy, a symbolic nexus of utility and luxury and the place where this collection began.

The Spring/Summer 2021 collection explores Givenchy in the form of a stream of consciousness for Williams and is a ‘sampler’ of what is to come. Begun in the midst of a pandemic and completed within two months, this is a new beginning, yet is intermingled with elements of the archive and is a utilization of Givenchy’s distinct lineage, pointing to the past, present and future. Above all, there is a sense of celebration, of the people who have led Williams here and those he wants to wear the clothes. This is expressed in the images that reveals the collection, a photographic study by the creative director together with the artist Heji Shin – a photographer who also gets to the heart of who a person is as much as to the clothes they wear.