Backstage Givenchy S/S 2017
(Image credit: Jason Lloyd-Evans)

Mood board: For S/S 2017, Riccardo Tisci explored the more spiritual side to the urban man; blending precise tailoring with the strong, street orientated signatures he has become known for. The collection was decidedly more serene than previous seasons with its khaki workwear separates, nifty utility pocket jackets and mirror appliqués. Graphic direction was led by patterns taken directly from currency; the scrolling lines and triangle motifs found on dollar bills were blown up and placed center front on parka jackets or overlaid onto camo.

Best in show: Accessories borrowed from 90s underground music scenes – a prevailing influence at the menswear shows. They have been revised with new materials and graphics in-line with Tisci’s oeuvre; high-shine PVC bucket hats came in tortoiseshell and black, worn with dark sunglasses. The trainers for next season have a plump leather tongue, striped laces and a wide band of elastic stretched across the tops.

Scene setting: The show was staged in the courtyard of Paris’s Lycée Janson de Sailly – the biggest academic institution in the region with some 3,000 students. Guests were seated on black and white cubes, which reflected the optic checkerboard patterns in the collection. As we waited for the show to begin, the surrounding windows of the school were crammed with teenagers, clutching iPhones – Tisci’s audience had doubled and they were certainly pleased with what they saw.

Backstage Givenchy S/S 2017

(Image credit: Jason Lloyd-Evans)

Backstage Givenchy S/S 2017

(Image credit: Jason Lloyd-Evans)

Backstage Givenchy S/S 2017

(Image credit: Jason Lloyd-Evans)

Backstage Givenchy S/S 2017

(Image credit: Jason Lloyd-Evans)

Backstage Givenchy S/S 2017

(Image credit: Jason Lloyd-Evans)

INFORMATION

Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans

London based writer Dal Chodha is editor-in-chief of Archivist Addendum — a publishing project that explores the gap between fashion editorial and academe. He writes for various international titles and journals on fashion, art and culture and is a contributing editor at Wallpaper*. Chodha has been working in academic institutions for more than a decade and is Stage 1 Leader of the BA Fashion Communication and Promotion course at Central Saint Martins. In 2020 he published his first book SHOW NOTES, an original hybrid of journalism, poetry and provocation.