Ahead of her debut collection for Givenchy, the Birmingham-born, ex-Chloé designer and newly-appointed creative director Clare Waight Keller has given the world a taste of her vision for the storied French maison. Delightfully, she chose to do so though the internet-honoured tradition of the cat video – except it’s the most elegant cat video you’ve ever seen.
Shot in black and white by Steven Meisel at a private manor house in New York City, the film introduces the new human faces of the brand, including the British-Indian beauty Saffron Vadher and USA babe Meghan Roche, male models Elias Bouremah and Kolton Bowen, and five new feline friends: Purrkins, Maurice, Raggedy-ann, Dr Hackenpuss and Uncle Pitty-Pat.
A release from Givenchy explains that, when Clare was researching the house archive, she discovered she shared a love of animals with founder Hubert de Givenchy, and a collection of “silk prints from 1953 featuring a photo-realistic feline with orange eyes” caught her eye in particular.
“I love the idea of a woman with a feline air,” Clare says in a statement. “A person may seem slightly reserved, but they have that serene, straightforward gaze. They’re seductive. You want to meet them, know more about them, and be like them. I wanted to play with that modern attitude and expression because I feel like it’s an apt metaphor for Givenchy’s current evolution.”
The lace T-shirts, tuxedo trousers and gold jewellery worn by the human models are said to “point to the designer’s direction for her first Givenchy runway presentation,” which will happen during Paris Fashion Week on 1 October. And if your own feline pal has their eyes on the custom Givenchy cat collars, they are in luck, as these will be available to buy too. We are positively purring at the news.