Givenchy A/W 2020 Paris Fashion Week Men’s

Mood board: Last year the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris staged a glorious exhibition unpicking the unique story of the Maharaja d’Indore – Yeshwant Rao Holkar Bahadur. Bahadur was a figure across both the European and Indian cultural set who commissioned The Manik Bagh Palace, one of the most well-known Modernist constructions of 1930s India. ‘He was an incredible drifter through different cities. He decided to abandon his past in India and embrace Modernism. He was photographed with Man Ray and went into the Surrealist movement – he was this person who just drifted into different things in life. This idea of an urban drifter was interesting to me,’ artistic director Clare Waight Keller said. A/W 20 featured glossed leather trousers and oversized patchwork knits, heavy metal capped boots, bullion thread and crystal embroideries. The look was eclectic yet precise.
Best in show: Slimline tailoring, double-breasted blazers and nipped-in coats were clasped shut with brooches, kilt pins and fob chains laden with charms. Backstage, Keller spoke of the different cultures the prince mingled with; in 1938, he married for a second time in Los Angeles and this mood was translated into a sharpness of suiting. A more urban style paired with the couture elements such as the latex high collar undershirts by Atsuko Kudo and full, hand-embroidered opulent evening wear.
Sound bite: One year on from presenting her first standalone menswear collection for the house, Keller is developing the 1970s glamour and élan she seems to enjoy. ‘A/W 20 is a slightly tougher guy. I have two sides of my menswear – last season was the more urban side but, in Paris, I wanted to remember that really sharp Givenchy, the dark, mysterious romantic that is running through all of my work here.’ An opulence flowing into the couture. ‘The Maharaja d’Indore had this incredible dynamic of moving though different cultures in life and I think that sort of speaks to the way we should be in the world today.’ A spontaneous elegance for new age nomads.
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
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.
-
Seven kitchens, one fire: inside LA’s hottest new food market
At Maydan Market, chef Rose Previte turns global street food and layered design into a vibrant, fire-lit experience
-
Zegna’s exclusive new perfume is legacy in a bottle
Il Conte, of which only 300 (refillable) bottles exist, evokes the early 20th-century office of company founder Ermenegildo Zegna, still preserved in an Alpine mansion
-
A new American airline hopes to bridge the worlds of private aviation and business class
Magnifica Air’s Airbuses have acres of space, private suites and white-glove treatment for your precious luggage, coming soon to a route near you
-
The key takeaways from the S/S 2026 shows: freedom, colour and romance define fashion’s new chapter
We unpack the trends and takeaways from the S/S 2026 season, which saw fashion embrace a fresh start with free-spirited collections and a bold exploration of colour and form
-
The independent designers you might have missed from fashion month S/S 2026
Amid a tidal wave of big-house debuts, we take you through the independent displays that may have slipped through the cracks – from beautiful imagery to bookshop takeovers, museum displays and moves across the pond
-
From wearable skincare to scented runways, unpacking the unconventional beauty moments of fashion month S/S 2026
The S/S 2026 season featured everything from probiotic-lined athleisure to fragranced runways – and those Maison Margiela mouthguards
-
Pierpaolo Piccioli makes Balenciaga debut ‘from a place of love and connection’
Attended by Anne Hathaway and Meghan Markle, the ex-Valentino designer’s first runway display for Balenciaga took place within Kering’s Paris headquarters
-
Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez make a bold start at Loewe, inspired by Ellsworth Kelly’s ‘elemental colours’
The former Proenza Schouler designers presented their debut collection for Loewe this morning, channelling ‘clarity and colour, sensual physicality, and sunniness’
-
‘Change is inevitable’: Jonathan Anderson’s first Dior womenswear collection recodes the house’s archive
An audacious collection from the Northern Irish designer, presented in Paris this afternoon, saw him reconsider the Dior archive in his unwaveringly inventive style
-
Acne Studios’ cigar salon runway set is decorated with Pacifico Silano’s homoerotic ‘objects of desire’
Brooklyn-based artist Pacifico Silano breaks down his collaboration with Acne Studios, seeing his work – which zooms in on 1970s and 1980s gay erotica – backdrop the brand’s S/S 2026 show today in Paris
-
The standout shows of Paris Fashion Week S/S 2026 – as they happened
Amid a season of seismic change, we pick the definitive shows of Paris Fashion Week S/S 2026 – including Matthieu Blazy’s Chanel debut and Jonathan Anderson’s first womenswear collection for Dior