Back in March, Givenchy presented its distinctively ‘noir’ AW18 collection at Paris Fashion Week. Long faux furs hid sequinned slips and, in the men’s department, the same faux fur was paired with leather to create a chic, glamorous vibe with gritty undertones. The label’s newly-released AW18 campaign channels this same atmosphere.
The campaign is framed as a winding journey to an underground location, captured in brief films shot by acclaimed fashion photographer (and frequent Givenchy collaborator) Steven Meisel in hazy black and white. Designer Clare Waight Keller’s intention with the ad was all about who wears the clothes: “I wanted to capture the reality of the modern couple in all its diversity: amid a bustling scene or on a crowded dance floor, these urban characters always manage to find each other and flock together in the dark,” she says. “I loved the idea of capturing a Givenchy romance through Steven Meisel’s masterful cinematic lens.”
Once these urban characters – in this case, models Karolin Wolter, Sohyun Jung, and Tamy Glauser, among others – have found their secret location, Keller’s designs shift and seethe as Meisel’s camera pans across clandestine dancefloors, capturing romantic, androgynous encounters among the crowd; the “flocking together” Keller describes. Over the vignettes, a voiceover relates GPS directions, guiding them on in German, Japanese, and French – and perhaps pointing out our path to the party, too. See ya on the dancefloor!
