Now it’s Macdonald’s turn to create a signature look. For the third time since its founder Count Hubert de Givenchy was pushed by the house’s owners to retire in 1995, the company is introducing a rising young talent as its artistic director and announcing plans to revamp the house. But this time, it might actually work. After interviewing most of fashion’s hotshot designers, Givenchy executives have hired a virtual unknown–but one who is plainly eager to please. Last Sunday he made his debut. Inside a 19th-century apartment on the chic Avenue Foch, Macdonald revealed his modern haute couture collection, spun off two Givenchy classics: the ruffle-sleeved Bettina blouse and the black cocktail dress made famous by Audrey Hepburn. “I want people to leave crying,” Macdonald said during an interview before the show. “I want them to feel the warmth and love of Givenchy.”
The glitterati in attendance may not have left crying, but they certainly felt Macdonald’s earnest devotion to the house that hired him. It’s quite a change from his two predecessors, British braggarts John Galliano and Alexander McQueen, whose vulgar designs–including collections based on toreadors, urban cowgirls and inner-city basketball– swiftly erased the image of refinement that Givenchy had cultivated for 40 years. Publicly at least, Macdonald is Givenchy’s biggest fan. “The great thing about Givenchy is that it has a great history,” he says. “I don’t want to rip that apart. I want to use Hubert’s establishment, and his knowledge, and redo it for a new generation.” Macdonald is also frank about his lack of experience. “I have a vision but I need the atelier hands to interpret it,” he says. “I never pretend to know everything. I’m learning every minute of every day.”
He’s certainly come a long way. The son of farmers, Macdonald was raised in the small Welsh town of Merthyr Tydfil. As a child, he studied theater and dance. “Billy Elliott? That’s me,” he says, laughing. “Fifty little girls, two boys and me, doing ballet in the school hall.” Macdonald never considered fashion until, while taking art classes, he realized he was more interested in drawing the fabric than the live model. He enrolled at the Royal College of Art in London, and specialized in knit-wear. Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld found Macdonald’s filmy knits enchanting, and hired him to freelance for a few seasons–an extraordinary opportunity for a university student.
After graduating four years ago, Macdonald launched his own flashy women’s wear label in London. Almost immediately he established a reputation for rhinestone-encrusted showgirl-like gowns, which were favored by the Spice Girls, his first famous clients. Soon Macdonald was dressing some of the world’s most fashionable stars: Tina Turner, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez, Nicole Kidman and Madonna. “They always come to me,” he insists. “I never phone them and say, ‘Can I make you clothes?’ "
Before long, Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), the parent company of Givenchy, came calling, too. Frustrated by never-ending negotiations with Belgian designer Olivier Theyskens for the Givenchy slot, LVMH fashion-group president Yves Carcelle and his wife, Rebecca, traveled last March to Milan to check out a few other potential candidates. While visiting the showroom of one, Macdonald says, they came across his new 90-piece collection, also on display. “This is what women want!” declared Rebecca Carcelle, as she tried on the clothes herself.
Ten days later Macdonald had the job. “You know when it’s right,” says Givenchy chairman and CEO Marianne Tesler, “even if it’s not an obvious choice.” They agreed that while Macdonald would continue to do his self-described “high-voltage” clothes for his own label in London, he would create a more demure collection for Givenchy, as well as overhaul its accessories lines. Tesler is confident that this time around, she and her colleagues have made the right choice. “With Julien, we are getting back to our original image: that of French elegance,” she says. And that’s enough to make any Givenchy lover weep with joy. ^
