Sarah Burton Is Givenchy’s New Designer
After months of speculation online and in the front rows of fashion shows, the rumors proved to be true: Sarah Burton is the new creative director at Givenchy, LVMH announced on Monday. Her first collection will be presented in March 2025. WWD reports she will have her first meetings in the ateliers in Paris this week.
Burton had previously spent her entire career at Alexander McQueen, where she first joined as an intern coming out of Central Saint Martins in 1996. When the designer Alexander McQueen died suddenly in 2010, Burton was his head of design and clear successor to continue his vision, defined by his sharp silhouettes, provocative concepts, and innovative craftsmanship. Less than a year after her mentor’s death, Burton surprised the fashion world by landing a highly coveted commission: Kate Middleton’s wedding dress, seen by millions worldwide.
In an era of celebrity designers, who live the lifestyle their brands represent, Burton is known as a hard worker who prefers to stay behind the scenes. At McQueen, she still designed on dress-form stands, she told Cathy Horyn in 2023. No wonder, then, that McQueen was known as one of the rare luxury brands that sold more clothing than handbags.
“Burton is far more innovative than she probably receives credit for, but it’s always balanced by an awareness of what customers want — a lesson she learned from her earliest roles at McQueen,” Horyn wrote in her 2023 profile of Burton, which also reported Kering’s desire to turn McQueen into a billion-dollar brand. Seven months later, the news broke that Burton would leave the label after nearly 30 years.
Givenchy, owned by Kering’s competitor LVMH, has been without a designer since December, when Matthew Williams exited after over three years in the role. During his tenure, he was dogged by rumors that he was not long for the job — an increasingly common reality in the luxury business, where it’s no longer unusual for head designers to be replaced by their corporate owners after only a few years. Recently, Tom Ford hired Haider Ackermann to succeed Peter Hawkings, who left after less than a year in the top role, and Lanvin hired Peter Copping to replace Bruno Sialelli, who had led the brand for less than five years.
No designer has lasted very long at Givenchy since Riccardo Tisci exited in 2017. He was replaced by the brand’s first-ever female creative director, Clare Waight Keller, who left three years later.
By joining Givenchy, Burton will expand the small number of female creative directors at top luxury brands. When she exited McQueen last year and it was unclear if and when she would return to fashion, her departure sparked a conversation in the press and social media about the lack of female representation in luxury’s top roles.
Several high-profile design jobs are still open in fashion, none more consequential than at Chanel, where Virginie Viard exited unexpectedly in June.
“I am so excited to be able to write the next chapter in the story of this iconic house and to bring to Givenchy my own vision, sensibility, and beliefs,” said Burton in a statement.
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