Your first look at Givenchy’s full SS16 campaign

Today Riccardo Tisci unveiled the Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott-shot visuals for his SS16 collection for Givenchy. Featuring an all-star cast of 27 models (including his muses Lara Stone, Joan Smalls and Mariacarla Boscono), the campaign reflects the theme of the Marina Abramoviç-directed New York Fashion Week show – that of love.

Accompanying images of the models dressed in the collection is a poem by English singer Antony Hegarty and frontman of Antony and the Johnsons, now known as Anohni: “I am a child on the river, and love waits downstream,” it reads. “A waterfall to steal my breath, and change my mind.” “He’s a poetic person. In a few words, he said everything,” said Tisci, speaking on Hegarty’s text.

Staged in Pier 26 in Manhattan, in the shadow of where the Twin Towers once stood, Givenchy’s SS16 show blended fashion and performance art and was (in Abramoviç’s words) “about forgiveness, inclusivity, new life, hope and, above all, love”.

“Everyone can do something very small, some gesture of love. I’m not saying this will change the world, but the world will be better. I’m a big believer in positive energy, and I’m sure this energy will spread,” Tisci told WWD, expanding on his philosophy. “People have given me so much love and so much respect and this has helped me to grow.”

“It was a very big production: 27 models. That’s a lot of people,” Tisci goes on to say, recalling the campaign shoot. “But at the same time it was fun because it’s like family. Everyone was happy to be there.” Among his longtime muses, the designer enlisted some new faces, including former Dazed cover star Lineisy Montero and Greta Varlese.

Check out the gallery above to see the full campaign and the gallery below for behind the scenes images from the shoot.