BREAKING: Clare Waight Keller Out at Givenchy

After three years at the helm of Givenchy, Clare Waight Keller’s run as artistic director of the LVMH-owned French couture house is coming to an end.

The finale of Wight Keller’s last show for Givenchy, Fall 2020 women’s ready-to-wear (IMaxTree)

“As the first woman to be the artistic director of this legendary maison, I feel honored to have been given the opportunity to cherish its legacy and bring it new life,” said Waight Keller in a statement released today by Givenchy. “Focusing on a world based on haute couture has been one of the highlights of my professional journey. I have shared so many incredible moments with the brilliant Givenchy ateliers and design teams: your exceptional talent and dedication will forever remain in my memories. My heartfelt thanks go out to each of the unsung heroes and heroines behind the scenes, for their contribution from product to communications and retail, and every global team member, partner and supplier in between. Without all of you, I could not have brought my vision for Givenchy to life in such a beautiful way.”

“I want to warmly thank Clare Waight Keller for her contribution to Givenchy’s latest chapter,” added LVMH Fashion Group chairman and CEO, Sidney Toledano. “Under her creative leadership, and in great collaboration with its ateliers and teams, the Maison reconnected with the founding values of Hubert de Givenchy and his innate sense of elegance. I wish Clare all the best in her future endeavors.”

As for what these future endeavors will be, who knows! Our guess is that she’s heading over to Chanel to take over from Virginie Viard. After all, someone needs to and Waight Keller’s work at Givenchy has been absolutely lovely; it would be wonderful to see what she did at a house like Chanel with such a rich and distinctive history. Not that Givenchy doesn’t have a rich history of its own. Quite the contrary. And Waight Keller did an absolutely masterful job of honoring and reinterpreting the house codes to create something elegant and modern, but still connected to what came before. She’d be great at Chanel.

As for the future of Givenchy, according to the press release, “the house’s new creative organization will be communicated at a later date.”

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