A given season in the fashion world is exactly like the floor of a luxury, multi-brand retailer: everything adheres in one way or another to current trends and styles, but within each corner and pop-up shop there lies a mini-universe of trends and styles within a brand. Trends themselves can be like these corner and pop-up shops- within every season, past the enhanced shoulders and neon hues, there seems to exist a subset of trend that glides gently under the radar.
We all saw it in 2009- Dior gave us Central Asian falconer meets Indian royalty; Adam Lippes gave us hints of traditional Japan; Diane Von Furstenburg even had a Safari theme. Cultural roots with a tribal lilt permeated the runway more than many people may have noticed. Riccardo Tisci, in his showing for Givenchy, gave it to us times 10.
Givenchy Couture for Fall 2009 screamed North African Tribal- models were adorned with graceful, burqa like head coverings, some even gilded with gold face masks and bangles. Iridescent harem pants, diaphanous pantaloons in python, and arabesque vegetal motifs drove the point home. This collection really proves what an asset Tisci is to the design world- a careful monitoring and analysis of trends both popular and subtle was evident in the execution of the runway's 21 looks.
