On the heels of Elle Fanning wearing not one but two of her first custom pieces, former McQueen head designer Sarah Burton sent out her first runway collection. Folks smarter about fashion history than I am can tell you about her inspirations; per W:
Burton was inspired by the structured silhouettes found in Givenchy’s archive; in particular, Hubert de Givenchy’s first show in 1952, which was full of pieces so directionally simple that they had a strikingly graphic quality about them. […] Each look was inspired by a hidden trove of Givenchy calico patterns discovered in Hubert de Givenchy’s first maison during a recent renovation of the building.
She opened with a catsuit stamped with the Givenchy logo, which W called a “palate-cleanser” but which to me seemed more like a How Do You Do. The collection includes a mullet version of Elle Fanning’s white look, and a lot of strong silhouettes, mixed with some slightly more impractical stuff — because you can’t have a runway show without nipples and a couple head-scratchers. W trots out that whole line about how Burton understands the way women want to dress, and maybe that’s true, but a lot of these seem intimidatingly boxy and oversize — and then there are four identical see-through frocks that I can imagine appealing to Ashley Graham and ONLY Ashley Graham. I don’t know. My jury is still out.
[Photos: Launchmetrics Spotlight]
