Givenchy Heads to New York City

The house of Givenchy has just announced it will be showing its Spring/Summer 2016 womenswear collection during New York Fashion Week. The move will coincide with the French luxury brand opening a brand new 5,000-square foot flagship store on Madison Avenue. On September 11, Givenchy will present its new collection followed by what will most likely be a star-studded launch party to celebrate the grand store opening. Givenchy's creative director, Riccardo Tisci, is well aware of the significance of the date and wants to make sure people will have their minds taken off brutal memories. "It’s a very delicate day for America, and so the show is going to be a celebration of family and love," said the designer in an interview with WWD.

Tisci oversaw the design of the flagship store at 747 Madison Avenue and plans to do the same for the next openings: a second standalone store in Miami, one in Milan, Rome and London. The last Givenchy store in New York, also on Madison Avenue, closed down for business in 2006 with no replacement until now. After such a long absence in the Big Apple, Tisci wants to make sure this new store will see the light of day with a bang. The creative director has enlisted the help of performance artist Marina Abramović to ensure the launch will have all the necessary pizzazz, "She’s going to help me to art direct the show. It’s going to be very interesting," Tisci commented. With only two other stores open in the US at the moment (Miami and Las Vegas), a flagship in NYC was a requisite step for the ever-growing fashion house.

Givenchy Menswear SS16 shown in Paris last week

Tisci loves the States and already spends a good amount of time in New York, "It gives me so much energy, and I'm very inspired by the culture," he said. "I feel free when I'm there." Hubert de Givenchy himself had travelled across the Pond to show his best haute couture collections, seducing along the way Audrey Hepburn, who would become his greatest muse and ambassador to this day. "It seems like history repeating itself," noted Philippe Fortunato, Givenchy chairman and CEO, not failing to mention that the departure to New York would most likely be a one-off...