At Givenchy, Sarah Burton treads line between deconstructed tailoring and fairy tale enchantment

Among the 2025 intake of new artistic directors, Sarah Burton has quickly made her mark at Givenchy. It is now a year and a half since Alexander McQueen’s long-time right hand took over from Matthew M. Williams at the helm of the LVMH-owned house, and the coherence of her work—across both collections and image—appears to have firmly cemented her position. 

And it is not her Spring/Summer 2027 collection, presented on Friday afternoon in a venue at the foot of Les Invalides on the fifth day of Paris Fashion Week, that is likely to incur critics’ wrath (they are currently occupied taking aim elsewhere in Paris). After a tour de force in cut and drape, the designer fielded a stream of questions from enthusiastic journalists and fashion critics. She barely had time to accept congratulations and warm embraces from the iconic supermodel Eva Herzigova, whom she had sent down the catwalk in a majestic evening gown. A defining look of the show, the supermodel had stepped out a few minutes earlier in a black draped piece rising asymmetrically, with a generous collar, paired with elegant leather gloves tied with large bows.

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It is also symbolic of the creative director’s intent: she explains that she wanted to offer women “a powerful silhouette.”

“Every piece is very carefully considered and has a way of empowering the woman, or of protecting the body,” she said

So what did that translate to? Set within a geometric scenography that saw models follow a labyrinthine path, the creative director presented silhouettes that were subtly off-kilter yet perfectly suited to businesswomen and powerful women of the world, alongside more poetic creations.

Burton designs pieces that at first glance appear classic, yet she imbues them with a potent charge. Consider the sleeveless black leather sheath that opened the show. Yes, the acid-yellow lining caught the eye, but the British designer added multiple metal zips, offering myriad options to liberate its wearer.

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Pencil skirts, tailored jackets, blouses: every piece was shown in a new light. Side slits gained several centimetres, double-breasted jackets shifted in proportion, the tank top doubled its straps to become more rock ’n’ roll than sexy, and the intense blue satin blouse billowed at the sides without hindering movement. Then came the dresses, now with a single strap and starting above the navel, revealing a simple bralette. A bodysuit, again with a single strap, was worn over a banker’s shirt. An oversized ivory satin jacket, worn against the skin, plunged as if pitched forwards. 

The creative director and her team have extensively deconstructed tailoring. Trousers appeared ultra-wide, as though extra legs had been added to either side. On the jackets, panels were shifted, altered and reinterpreted. On one, sleeves crossed over the chest as the model walked bare-armed; on another, the back was cut in a rounded arc, exposing the hips. 

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The LVMH group’s house, led since early 2026 by Amandine Ohayon, also put its accessory categories firmly in the spotlight. From leather boots to brightly coloured pumps topped with oversized pom-poms, from earrings to chunky necklaces and imposing bracelets, and above all a multitude of leather bags—all treated to luxurious iterations, from precious inlays to animal prints—the brand left no doubt about its full potential.

Ultimately, Burton led the audience through her narrative to the very threshold of fairy tales. Deep green dresses showcased ingenious draping, worked in supple leather or as myriads of threads running from collar to hem, creating a delicate ensemble in constant motion, cinched at the waist with a chick-yellow cord.

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Her evening gowns verged on the magical, whether they were grand draped dresses arranged around a structure of golden circles fixed into the backs of models striding like goddesses, or two ethereal white gowns: one opening like a petal to the floor, the other cinched at the ribs and unfurling into a corolla. The British designer emphasised her love of “the juxtaposition of the hard and the soft”: her Givenchy for 2027 emerged as a powerful statement.