October 4, 2026 |
“For me, it was about cut and silhouette,” said Givenchy’s Sarah Burton of her superb SS27 collection. There’s a clarity and sense of purpose to everything she does. This time she aimed for “a precise simplicity”, creating clothes that “cut through the noise of everything going on in the world”.
For Burton, fashion finds meaning when it’s rooted in the lives of the women who wear it. Whether it’s a green leather dress crafted to be as supple as silk, or an authoritative piece of tailoring, she is designing to make the women who wear her clothes “feel empowered, to enhance her body, to make sure that she has the wardrobe, that she feels that she could use”.
During fittings, she talks to her models about how they feel in the clothes. “They often dictate when I’m going to put them in.” There isn’t one kind of Givenchy woman, she said, there is a multitude. One thing they all share, however, is an appreciation for beautifully crafted clothes. “Each piece was very considered,” said Burton.
Her tailoring is exceptional. Highly technical yet always elegant, power-shouldered jackets came with a front panel set asymmetrically, which defined the waist and showed a little slash of flesh on the hip. On one striking jacket, she flattened the pattern pieces of a sleeve and folded them across the front to create a heart shape. “I cut the trouser on a trapeze lines,” she said, giving a traditionally masculine piece the feeling of super femininity with plenty of shape and drape.
For day, a red leather shirt worn with burgundy leather split-side skirt telegraphed strength and style. Leather jeans worn with sculpted tank tops added daytime dynamism.
Amongst her proposals for cocktail wear – a precision-cut hourglass red satin jacket with scrolled fabric on the hip, worn with high-waisted jeans. The idea was relatable, but exquisitely executed. Two show stopping jersey gowns were suspended from slender brass tubes that moulded around the torso. “so that they skim the body.”
Burton is in her groove at Givenchy and working at the height of her considerable powers.
Photography courtesy of Givenchy.
