F  L  A  U  N  T

![Alt Text]() In the 1920’s, the daughter of Swiss silk magnate and granddaughter of the head of the Swiss Army, Annemarie Schwarzenback grew up with the fondness of dressing like a boy and rebelled against strict societal mores as a teenager. Schwarzenback became a writer and novelist then left her conservative family behind to move to Berlin to live closer to her personal aesthetics, and beliefs having affairs with women while also being married. She died at age 34 from a bicycle accident that resulted in head trauma. Schwarzenback’s wardrobe that inspired Clare Waight Keller, the creative director of Givenchy, spring show at the Palais de Justice where the theme of ‘I Am Your Mirror’ – the collision of codes and cultures, woman and man mirror each other, eras interact, and floral softness and silver beads hardness – worked wonderfully on tailored jackets tucked into military cargo pants, leather biker jacket and high waist cotton pants, and soft marigold one sleeve flare dresses an overall fluid and elegant silhouette with feminine clothes. The duality is felt directly in the combinations of the outfits shown - But Keller also cited Nico, the German singer, songwriter and actress whose fondness of pant suits and dresses paired with mod boots inspired a series of fine tailored jackets with forward shoulders and minimal coats either in perforated leather, silk crepe, black wool or in a bright green lapel less single-breasted loose pant suit. For the menswear, it was Lou Reed’s less aggressive rock style – leather bikers and aviators – that provided the template for a more traditional men’s slim tailored pantsuit this time in a pink mauve color, grey or blue or charcoal stripes, military coats with biker leather lapels and cargo pants, trench coats or the occasion sleeveless teal biker jacket and matching pants. For evening there were plenty of silver sparkles for both – the girls had all silver beads dress or silver bolero cape over black corset and belted pants and the guys had silver jackets with black pants or a simple black shirt with leather silver pants. For Keller, Schwarzenback, Nico and Lou were icons before their times and although they lived distinct lives in different eras - the 1930’s, the 1960’s and the 1970’s respectively – they all rejected easy societal labels of all kinds and chose wardrobes to depict their physical appearances as intrinsic to defining themselves to the world. These three icons furnished a road map for Keller to firmly take ownership of her vision for Givenchy after merely three seasons and wiped clean the previous slate of goth and street-luxury vibes with a blend of friendly more androgynous silhouettes for both women and men collections. The mood of the show felt less like a subversion of gender lines than the idea that certain garments are indeed genderless as the designer made no attempt to put her male model in a long dress. A series of ultra feminine dresses like the light bright aqua blue long sleeve pleated dress with front pleats panel or one of the show’s strongest look – a pink long and loose dress with long bell sleeves limited the extent of androgyny in the show. It’s more about how millennials approach their wardrobe today rather than any intellectual definition of gender less – at the end of the day it’s more about putting together different elements rather than a well thought out sense of gender bending. There are plenty of accessories and footwear here as well.

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Photos courtesy of Givenchy