Sublime. Unpretentious. Elegant. Those were the first words that dropped in my mind while watching Clare Waight Keller‘s debut haute couture show for Givenchy. Back in October, I was on fence with her first ready-to-wear collection for the house – it felt like lacking any direction, taking clues from Hedi Slimane’s Saint Laurent era. But with this simply beautiful couture outing, I’m quite sure that Clare is finding her path at Givenchy. Moving away from her boho Chloé days for good, the designer gracefully revisited Hubert de Givenchy’s archives and delivered a line up of masterfully cut eveningwear. Forget futile venues; focus on the garments. She studied “the structure and graphism Hubert had in his work at the beginning.” And then, she indulged herself fully in it and got on with working with the atelier team in “the complete freedom couture offers.” From all-black looks to very fine-looking latex creations, I think there won’t be much of a problem with selection of the looks for the red carpet goers (think Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara). I really hope to see that orange feather bomb in action, as well.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.