What Is Love? Just Ask the Models In Givenchy’s New Spring 2016 Campaign Video

This past fall, Givenchy’s Riccardo Tisci staged a runway spectacular in New York — replete with artistic direction by Mariana Abramovic and 1,500 free seats for the fashion-adoring public— as an homage to the city that he adores on September 11th, which also quietly commemorated his tenth anniversary at famed French label. The darkly romantic collection featured 88 looks — both ready-to-wear and haute couture, mainly in shades of black and white — worn by a diverse group of both female and male models that have all served as Tisci muses throughout the course of his tenure. As celebs such as Julia Roberts, Nicki Minaj, and Kim Kardashian looked on, they somberly strut to music inspired by six different religions, including the final walk to an a cappella rendition of “Ave Maria.” With the Tribute In Light beaming in the background, it made even the most jaded fashion type quite emotional.

It is of little wonder then that Tisci has returned to these hallowed stomping grounds with his model family for the Spring/Summer 2016 campaign, which was shot in and around lower Manhattan by famed fashion photographers Mert and Marcus. He has enlisted all of his favorite girls including Miranda Kerr, Joan Smalls, Lara Stone, Natalia Vodianova, Issa Lish, and Gemma Ward to answer that age old question: what is love?

The models answer in their native tongues — Spanish, Italian, French, until it becomes a sea of whispered answers. We spoke with Tisci for his direct thoughts on the matter, why he’s hoping to change the world in his own special way, and how he may be a romantic, but please don’t call him “hopeless.”

Yahoo Style: What was the concept behind the campaign?

Riccardo Tisci: This advertising campaign is about celebrating a decade of honest friendships and mutual support, with my favorite messages of Love, Gang and Family. I wanted to showcase how Givenchy can be about all kinds of women, no matter what age or what style. This for me was like a new beginning, a clean slate to turn a new Givenchy page. The next ten years in our beautiful story that I cannot wait to be involved in! Of course, this campaign has aspects that feel very close to home, like the street inspiration, but it really comes down to me sharing love, creativity and respect with the people that have been so important for us at Givenchy over the last decade, and that will help take us into the next one.

Would you call yourself a hopeless romantic?

My view of femininity and romance has always been very dark. But not in the way you would think. Darkness is a way of life, but I believe you can find a lot of light in it. That’s my balance in everything: I always ask myself how much light can come out of this, no matter how dark it looks at first sight. That’s just my taste, my signature.

But I would definitely not call myself hopeless, I am very hopeful, for us, our world, the generations to come…The message I wanted to spread here was that love’s power knows no limits, no boundaries, and if we all share just a little bit of that mindset, we would certainly hope to make someone else’s life a little better too, and so on.

You’re one of the few designers who really embraces diversity in fashion; how do you go about casting a shoot like this? Would you ever consider casting a plus size model as well?

I wouldn’t want anyone to do the casting for me. Every year, I see so many girls and boys. It’s the only way for me to discover really strong personalities. The only thing you can always expect from me, is to show a strong woman with a firm point of view. I love that so much about all the women around me. That is what you can find in the models in this campaign.

They are all friends. People I admire, that are strong sensual persons, on top of being amazing at their work. And that is how I cast, through the lens of personality, of human energy, not based on the color of one’s hair or skin, I don’t care about that, and no one should.