The Making of Sarah Burton’s Givenchy

On this January studio visit, and again at a preview four days before the show, Burton earns her reputation as a hands-on designer all over again, examining one of those super-minis, for example, and asking, “is the godet in the right place or does it need to be more circular?” “What type of tulle have we put in there, could it be lighter?” “Do we put pockets in it to give it a different attitude?” “I think I’m a bit of a train spotter when it comes to all that kind of stuff,” she admits.

Showing off piece after perfect-looking piece she reiterates the caveat, “it’s still a work in progress.” It’s her practice to do at least three fittings per garment. “That’s 150 fittings between now and Friday,” she says, betraying none of the anxiety a figure like that might instill in another person. “This is the fun part,” she says, pinning a swatch of embroidery that looks “aged or slightly destroyed” like it too came out of those trash bags hidden in the wall, to the effusive bow at the neck of a black silk dress. “McQueen was so small, you had to make the patterns yourself. I remember him putting an invisible zip into a bias-cut Prince of Wales skirt. Lee was amazing on the sewing machine, but we only had one meter, so you couldn’t make a mistake.” Of course he didn’t. “That’s how I learned to sort of sew and pattern cut on the job.”

Is there a freedom in reinterpreting Hubert de Givenchy, a designer who retired in 1995, one that few in the industry remember personally? Compared to McQueen, who so many people still hold personally dear? “There’s a pressure to the first show, but you have that everywhere, wherever you go,” says Burton. “I know what I love doing, what I’m good at doing. I learned that with Lee, and then carried on. You have to tell your own stories.”

It’s Burton’s practice to do at least three fittings per garment. “That’s 150 fittings between now and Friday,” she said several days before the show, betraying none of the anxiety a figure like might instill in another person. “This is the fun part.”

Photo: Heikki/Courtesy of Givenchy



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