Clare Waight Keller Departs Givenchy
After three years, Clare Waight Keller is departing Givenchy. In a heartfelt note posted to her Instagram, Waight Keller wrote, “After three truly wonderful years, the time has come to close my chapter at Givenchy. As the first woman to be the Artistic Director of this legendary Maison, I feel honored to have been given the opportunity to cherish its legacy and bring it new life. Focusing on a world based on Haute Couture has been one of the highlights of my professional journey. I have shared so many incredible moments with the brilliant Givenchy ateliers and design teams: your exceptional talent and dedication will forever remain in my memories.”
Waight Keller was hired at Givenchy in 2017. She arrived after a successful stint at Chloé, taking on menswear and haute couture for the first time while continuing to design womenswear and accessories. In total, she designed 10 collections per year for Givenchy, bringing an ’80s-tinged glamour to her womenswear; a svelte, sometimes retro beauty to menswear; and an experimental exuberance to the house’s couture shows.
She continued on Instagram: “My heartfelt thanks go out to each of the unsung heroes and heroines behind the scenes, for their contribution from product to communications and retail, and every global team member, partner, and supplier in between. Without all of you, I could not have brought my vision for Givenchy to life in such a beautiful way.”
One figure crucial to Waight Keller’s Givenchy legacy is the former Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, whose wedding dress she designed in 2018. The boatneck, long-sleeve gown helped cement Waight Keller’s Givenchy couture as a powerhouse and introduce the designer to a new audience of international fans. “She’s a strong woman—she knows what she wants,” Waight Keller said of Markle. “It was really an absolute joy working with her.” Seven months after walking down the aisle, Markle presented Waight Keller with the Womenswear Designer of the Year award at The Fashion Awards in London. Where Markle went, other celebrities followed. Rami Malek often wore Waight Keller’s menswear, while Gal Gadot, Rachel Weisz, Rooney Mara, Charlize Theron, Julianne Moore, and Grimes walked the red carpet in her womenswear and couture designs.
Sidney Toledano, the chairman and CEO of LVMH’s fashion group, wrote in a release: “I want to warmly thank Clare Waight Keller for her contribution to Givenchy’s latest chapter. Under her creative leadership, and in great collaboration with its ateliers and teams, the maison reconnected with the founding values of Hubert de Givenchy and his innate sense of elegance. I wish Clare all the best in her future endeavors.”
What’s next for one of Paris’s most storied maisons and for Waight Keller remains unknown. The brand promises an announcement “at a later date” about its new creative strategy, however the fashion rumor mill is already in overdrive not just about her replacement, but also where she might go next. Givenchy’s changing of the guard comes at a time when fashion’s revolving doors seem to have leveled out, following the chaotic creative director switcheroos of 2016, 2017, and 2018. Instead, the industry seems to be adopting new models of creative leadership, from Moncler’s ongoing Genius collaborations to Prada’s newly announced co-creative directorship of Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons.
Originally Appeared on Vogue
