EXCLUSIVE: Givenchy and Disney Are Collaborating
If you follow designer Matthew Williams on Instagram, you’ll know that he makes frequent pilgrimages to Euro Disney with his young daughters.
Now Givenchy’s creative director is taking his affection for Disney to a new zenith by forging a long-term collaboration between the entertainment conglomerate and the LVMH Mo?t Hennessy Louis Vuitton-owned fashion house he leads.
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Dubbed “The Wonder Gallery,” the project kicks off on Tuesday with a limited-edition capsule of luxury ready-to-wear, the first of a series. A second capsule is to follow in midsummer.
The garments are to feature some of Williams’ favorite Disney icons, with Magic Kingdom and character T-shirts priced from $520 to $600 and long-sleeved hooded T-shirts retailing for $790, all exclusively at givenchy.com.
“Disney has always held a special place in my heart, as it has for so many across generations, countries and cultures,” Williams said in a statement, disclosing the tie-up exclusively to WWD. “As a boy from California and a father in Paris, Disney has always been a source of meaningful moments throughout my life. It’s a true honor to bring two iconic brands together for this project.”
Courtesy of Givenchy
Givenchy is to begin teasing the collaboration on its social channels on Monday, describing “The Wonder Gallery” as an “imaginary realm tinged with nostalgia” with “classic Disney iconography and character silhouettes accompanied by Givenchy signatures.”
The latter include the French brand’s 4G emblem and the padlocks that Williams introduced as a new brand code shortly after he arrived at the house in June 2020.
Givenchy said it worked closely with Walt Disney Animation Studios to design pieces featuring such iconic cartoon characters as Bambi, Perdita and Pongo from “101 Dalmatians,” Elsa and Olaf from “Frozen” and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, created in 1927 by Walt Disney for Universal Pictures and the long-eared precursor to Mickey Mouse.
Williams has made hand-drawn characters a feature of his Givenchy collections, conscripting Seattle-born, Mexico-based graphic artist Chito to decorate the brand’s resort 2022 collection with air-brushed dogs and sad clowns, later putting 15 Chito NFTs up for auction.
For spring 2022, Williams collaborated with American artist Josh Smith, who applied such ghoulish, psychedelic motifs as carved pumpkins and the Grim Reaper to clothes and accessories. The fall 2022 show opened with an array of graphic T-shirts reminiscent of heavy-metal concert souvenirs.
Bambi made a brief appearance previously at Givenchy on a sweatshirt in the fall 2013 collection. The item has traded in recent years for more than $500 on resale sites including The RealReal and Grailed.
SEE ALSO:
Givenchy Leans Into Its New 4G Bag
Givenchy to Auction 15 NFTs by Graphic Artist Chito
Matthew Williams is Givenchy’s New Designer
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