British designer Julien Macdonald has been named artistic director for women at Givenchy, a division of luxury king Bernard Arnault’s LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
Macdonald replaces fellow Brit Alexander McQueen, who’s contract with Givenchy runs through the fall. However, McQueen’s relationship with Givenchy has been strained since he sold 51 percent of his own-name label to arch rival Domenico De Sole’s Gucci late last year. Industry sources put McQueen’s take between $25 million and $80 million.
Macdonald, who was head knitwear designer for Chanel Couture, has been designing for his own label since 1997. He made a splash on the New York fashion scene early in his career, showing his spring 1999 collection at the 7th on Sixth tents. Macdonald, a consummate showman was recently honored by the British fashion industry, winning its Glamour Award.
“For me, it’s a dream come true,” said Macdonald in a statement. “I love the sacred art of couture, and being given the chance to design for such an amazing house is a fabulous opportunity.” Macdonald was en route to Bali and not available for additional comment.
“His love of art, his creativity and his energetic personality bring so much to the house of Givenchy,” said Givenchy President Marianne Tesler in a statement. “His design sensibility is very representative of the Givenchy woman – classy, modern, elegant, sexy and feminine.”
Interestingly, Macdonald is as off-beat a designer as McQueen – just in an upbeat, glamorous way. Where McQueen, the “bad boy” of British fashion, is melodramatic, dark and gothic in his design choices, Macdonald is crazy for sparkly glitz, designing one of the most expensive dresses ever shown on London’s runways. The little black dress was adorned with more than 1,000 hand-cut diamonds worth more than $1.45 million.
It’s even been reported that he would like to be a player in the grand prix of glitz – dressing celebrities for the Academy Awards – quite a far cry from the understated elegance for which Givenchy was known in its early heyday.
The Givenchy ready-to-wear collection for fall – McQueen’s last – will be shown in Paris on Friday.