Interview with Givenchy's Riccardo Tisci

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Each season, he lines up the most intriguing women
and as something Tisci knows all too well, the
casting of a collection can set a precedent for our
current perception of beauty. From Natasha Poly to
Joan Smalls, he’s launched the careers of many a
household during his 10 year tenure at Givenchy but
he’s not just looking for a clotheshorse or another
pretty face; Tisci needs unique inspiration. He wants
the women he chooses to grace his runway and
their campaigns to breathe life into his work: “The
Givenchy woman is strong and confident. She has
a real personality. She knows what she wants,”
and express it with light. I still have my dark side,
but that won’t stop me from stepping away from
black for a minute,” he says. From velvet dévoré
dresses to waist-clinching corseted jackets, the
mysterious Victorian era reigns supreme for A/W
15. Fusing chiffon, beading, lace and velvet with
sheer craftsmanship, it is a reminder of his talents
as a couturier.
But Tisci hasn’t always had an easy path towards
showcase his worth as a credible designer. He grew
up in Northern Italy surrounded by eight sisters –
something he credits to how well he understands
women. “You know, I am the only son of a family
of eight…you can imagine what it was like for me
growing up!,” he proclaims. “I was always cared for
by women. I had nine mothers in a way, and that is
an exceptional way to bring yourself into adulthood.
Today, we are still so close. I call them everyday.
I love women so much, especially because of my
relationship to my close family. I want them to feel
special and beautiful all the time,” he says. After
losing his father at the age of four, Tisci’s family
never had a lot of money (he famously took the job
at Givenchy to financially provide for them). The
riches bestowed upon him were provided by for his
family through love and support. By the age of 11,
he left formal academia and enrolled in art school in
Milan. However fashion never really entered his radar
until he moved to London in the early Nineties. He’s
spoken previously of his sisters’ belief that he would
return home within months due to his lack of spoken
English and money but incredibly he secured a place
at London’s Central Saint Martins which paved the
way to his career in design. After working jobs such
as a club bouncer, branch manager for a high street
chain and a buyer for a Japanese retailer, his talents
were finally recognised in 2004 when he debuted his
first A/W 05 Riccardo Tisci Collection during Milan
Fashion Week to considerable applaud. Shortly
he says. These women have to match that ideal.
His latest project, a creative collaboration with
photographer Danko Steiner (showcased across our
pages), exudes individualism and taste – much like
the man in question. Having styled it himself, Tisci
captures his muses channelling a sombre hybrid of
Victoriana-meets-Chola. It’s centred around face
bijoux: from sleek kiss curls and braids to septum
rings and a face full of glued-on gems, it pushes
youthful subculture to the forefront. “Jewellery makes
a collection accessible to every woman regardless
of her shape, age or budget and can transform the
simplest of outfits into a strong statement. For me,
jewellery is the finishing touch to a look.” All praise
‘Chola Victorian – she’s the boss of the gang’. With
the visionary expertise of world-renowned make-
up artist Pat McGrath (she’s worked with a host
of notable designers and famously collaborated
with John Galliano during the height of his term at
Christian Dior), the palette itself is a juxtaposition of
a natural base with tribal-esque face jewellery. It’s
very dark, very Tisci.
It didn’t just start here, though – Tisci has always
waded into the dark side. When he arrived at the
Givenchy doors in 2005, the LVMH-owned label
was adrift. His predecessors, Alexander McQueen
and John Galliano, had moved onto bigger and
better things. Eradicating the Parisian elegance that
had been synonymous with the brand since Hubert
de Givenchy founded it in 1952, he pushed forth
his goth-infused edge and added street credibility.
Thanks to his vision, Givenchy’s parlous state
is firmly behind them and now, they’re in profit.
But this season the underground allure was more
intense than ever. “I used to consider myself dark
and gothic because everyone kept saying it, and I
assumed it came from my collections being mostly
black. Then I opened myself to colours, print, light
fabrics and fluidity and I realised you can still be dark
DESIGNER INSIGHT
Riccardo Tisci is a man of many muses. From model Joan Smalls
to the Chola girl gangs of America, for autumn/winter 2015,
Givenchy’s Creative Director explains why finding unconventional
beauty and keeping his Tisci tribe close are paramount to his success.
By Susan Devaney
T O M O R R O W ’ S
T R I B E
Styled by Riccardo Tisci, Photographed by Danko Steiner

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afterwards, he was offered the job with Givenchy.
These days his values are still set on creating a sense
of family everywhere he goes. “For me, models
mean a lot because they’re not just presenting my
collection; they’re really giving it life. I’m deeply
bound to that idea. I’m always doing castings
and I’m constantly looking for new girls. It is not
that I want to find a girl , have her become the
girl of the season and then drop her. I’m building
relationships for years and years. I have my family
and gang, whom we carry on season after season,”
he says. Models Magdalena Jasek (a flame-haired
Russian beauty) and 19-year-old new girl Sophia
Ahrens (tipped to be his freshly appointed muse)
have entered his fold, being photographed for
his collaboration with Steiner. They’re strikingly
beautiful, but unconventional – just the way he
likes it. Both adopt a play-off between hard versus
soft as they grace our pages. Moving from the
styling of soft textures in blushed pink fur to more
masculine tailoring in its fitted form, gender role
blurring is prominent. “I have many muses, but I’d
say my Audrey, the one who defines what my style
is and fits my universe in every way, is Mariacarla
Boscono,” he says with admiralty. The 34-year-old
Italian model has graced his runway time and time
again and, as seen through the eyes of Tisci, is a
modern day Madonna. That’s the thing about the
designer; he sees beauty where others might only
see difference. “It was during the moment when all
the top models were very tall with athletic bodies.
But Mariacarla, she’s quite different. As she’s gotten
older, she’s become more and more beautiful, but
when she was very young, she had a very specific
look, very particular.”
It’s this idea of a gang that has acted as a catalyst
for A/W 15. “I’m obsessed with America and Latin
America; it’s all about the American dream,” he says.
“When I was young, America represented for me a
mix of different people. Multi-culture is very important
for me. New York is my obsession. For a country
like Italy, there are so many restrictions on society,
religion, of everything. America was always my
dream. America is very powerful and is everywhere.”
Finding inspiration from the Chola girls makes perfect
sense. In the USA, the Chola-style is very popular
and traditionally relates to a specific subculture of
first and second-generation Mexican American girls
influenced by hip-hop, and sometimes associated
with gangs. Their desired look is all about hair and
beauty: from dark lip liner to skyscraper bangs,
less is not more. For Tisci, beauty doesn’t have a
religion or colour. Conventional modes of beauty just
don’t entice him. “Fashion and society in general
shouldn’t have barriers on sexuality, skin colour,
ethnicity and age. One should be free to express
ideas; one shouldn’t be scared to experiment. Lea
T embodies all of this, and reflects completely my
universe,” he says. Tisci has long championed the
career of transgender model Lea T. Before Lea’s
transition they were friends, and still are now. At first,
some people were against a couture house using a
transgender woman in a campaign but Tisci didn’t
listen. When he changed the format from fashion
show to a portrait at the Place Vendôme in Paris
he used Lea T, along with nine other models – his
10 women, all exclusively contract-bound to him.
Today, she’s a full-time model with campaigns and
contracts. 40-year-old Tisci trusts his gut. Against
others advice, he took a gamble and dressed Kim
Kardashian’s curves for the Met Ball, opting for
a full-length floral (maternity) gown. He was also
her designer of choice for her gown for her highly
anticipated wedding to Kanye West. For him, it’s
simple: beauty is beauty, and friends are true friends.
Gender-blurring and racial diversity are paramount to
Tisci’s vision. More importantly, they’re prerequisites
to be part of his pack. His first couture collection in
2005 set the benchmark of gothic girls – girls with a
different edge. And it’s his modern day muses who
evoke his vision. “Some people probably find the
idea of a muse outdated, but I think it’s so beautiful.
Being a man designing for a woman, I think it’s
so great to get an opinion from a real woman. It’s
my only dream and it’s beautiful to make a dream
become reality,” he says. “But you know, it’s not
only me. Looking at the past: Gianni Versace with
Naomi Campbell, Alexander McQueen with Kate
Moss, Audrey Hepburn with Monsieur Hubert de
Givenchy, Monsieur Saint Laurent with Betty Catroux
– everybody had their muse. I think a designer needs
a woman who really inspires him, someone who
really has a style and gives him an opinion about it.”
Tisci has created a different silhouette and a different
way of dressing by discovering beauty in those
inspirational women who are different. It’s fair to say
his constellation of muses always orbits his world.