Beyond all the archive Vivienne Westwood revivals, The Cure t-shirts, and the sugary punk of Olivia Rodrigo, designers, as well as celebrities, have been engaging with a slightly grungier aesthetic this season. There were face-pierced desert ravers at Burberry, nu-ravers in cloaking, acid wash denim at Louis Vuitton, and now Givenchy has presented a feral, graffitied collection set in the abandoned railways of Paris. Today (July 2) Matthew Williams sent out a slew of teenage runaways, strapped with bulging rucksacks and body jewellery. If garments weren’t ripped or frayed, they had been defaced with spray paint, as per the handiwork of Chito.
Seams on neon technical jackets had been replaced by graffitied slashes, while gauzy, multi-layered mini dresses had been tagged with cartoonish faces. But this kind of pubescent angst was, in no way, naive. A trashed Rimowa made way for a flurry of square-shouldered, knife-like tailoring. Leather playsuits, vandalised denim, and cobweb knitted overlays were swapped out for asymmetrical, embellished column dresses, stiff mesh skirts, and half-half blazers, all swaddled beneath oversized puffer jackets. Meanwhile, heavy jewellery took on the character of Williams’ trademark hardware, with hefty curb link necklaces, chain vests, and hulking rings.
