Givenchy Haute Couture collection for spring-summer 2019 celebrates Artistic Director Clare Waight Keller’s vision of powerful femininity.

The collection, titled Bleached Canvas, was revealed in the lower galleries of the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. Illuminated by a diffuse light, the setting created a three-dimensional ‘white cube’ for framing the unveiling.

Bleached Canvas is Keller’s collection of odes to the natural world, defined by her singular couture vocabulary. Keller furthers her philosophy of modern couture and broadens the distinctive Givenchy signature with an of-the-moment aesthetic that is hers alone.

The Givenchy Haute Couture collection is an exercise in purity of shape and line, rendered in black, white and pops of colour, in cobalt, vermillion, bright yellow or ultraviolet.

For the first time since becoming Artistic Director of the House of Givenchy, Keller explores mini-volumes, juxtaposing them freely with oversized looks and flowing, flared constructions.

Sculptural curves meet rigour of line in draped tailoring with a visual lightness and apparent simplicity that belie their technical intricacy.

The transparency of tulle and organza finds a counterpoint in chiselled peplums and flowing capes or liquid satin; organdy petals are pleated like origami while traditional laces such as guipure or Chantilly are modernised with lacquer finishes, articulations, and embroidery in relief.

Judiciously placed tube beading, paillettes, trompe l’oeil, tremblants, feathers, fringe and crystal embroideries illuminate silhouettes, while jewelled parures and precious bows are both striking and functional in the collection.