Louis Vuitton and Givenchy are two of the most notable names in fashion. Both brands couple innovative, trailblazing designs while also maintaining classic product secrets which made them known and loved all over the world.
Leading, living and breathing these brands is no easy task! Get to know the creative directors at the helm for Louis Vuitton and Givenchy below.
Nicolas Ghesquiere
Nicolas Ghesquire was born in 1971, in Comines, Nord-Pas de Calais, France. He was the son of a Francophone Belgian golf course owner, and his mother loved fashion. At age 12, Ghesquire already knew that he wanted to be a designer. Even without formal education in fashion, he made it work by taking an internship with French designer agnès b at age 14. His next apprenticeship was at Corinne Cobson. This is also where he realized that being in the fashion industry was difficult, and afterwards he decided to go home and finish his schooling.
After he finished his studies, his next stint came. From 1990 to 1992, he worked as as assistant to Jean Paul Gaultier. In 1997, at age 25, he was the surprise choice to be the Creative Director of Paris fashion house Balenciaga.
The task was daunting since Balenciaga lacked success and recall in the previous fashion shows. It was through Ghesquire’s leadership that the brand became a force critically-acclaimed in the recent years. He became known for his contrasting style, such as pairing high-waist skinny pants with a voluminous blouse.
At Balenciaga, some of his standout themes were futuristic mixed with the ‘80s style, while exploring key silhouettes by Cristobal Balenciaga, original owner and namesake of the fashion house.
He also gets inspiration from his environment as a kid. His scuba mini dress and equestrian-inspired 2006 Fall/Winter RTW collection allude to his childhood where he played and enjoyed a lot of sports, including horse riding, fencing, and swimming.
In November 2013, he officially replaced Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton as Creative Director for the women’s collections. This came after a long courtship, and Ghesquire’s 15 years at Balenciaga.
In October 2000, he was named avant-garde designer of the year at the VHI/Vogue Fashion Awards and a year later, he was named Womenswear Designer of the Year by the CFDA. Ghesquiere was featured in Time’s 100 Most Influential People of 2006, the only designer (recognized for their work in fashion) that year. He was also cited as the International Designer of the Year in 2014 by the British Fashion Awards.
He’s worn by fashion icons and ‘muses’ – including Charlotte Gainsbourg, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sienna Miller, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, model-singer-actress Joana Preiss; Anna Wintour, American Vogue’s editor-in-chief, actress Isabelle Huppert, ’60s icon in the Francophone world; Françoise Hardy, model Irina Lazareanu, Amira Casar, classical pianist Hélene Grimaud, Chinese actress Maggie Cheung, and Marianne Faithfull. He also has a longstanding fashion relationship with actress Kristen Stewart, which started when the actress was 14. She claims that if there’s a designer she wants to be around her, it’s Ghesquire.
Riccardo Tisci
Riccardo Tisci hails from Italy. His childhood and family were described as tight-knit, loving and serene. Unlike Nicolas Ghesquire, he had formal education in fashion. Tisci left regular school at age 11, and studied at the Istituto d’Arte Applicata e Design (the Italian university for Design) until he was 17, and then graduated from London’s Central St. Martins Academy in 1999.
After his schooling at Central St. Martins, he worked for Puma and Coccaponi, before signing a three-year contract with Ruffo Research, the company that helped launch the careers of several fashion designers.
In September 2004, after spending some time living in India, Tisci launched his first Riccardo Tisci Fall 2005/2006 collection in an off-calendar show at the Milan Fashion Week. Due to his bold, powerfully feminine designs, this stint gained him the attention, and thereafter got him hired as the new Creative Director for Givenchy Women’s Haute Couture and Ready-to-Wear lines. In 2008, he was additionally named as menswear and accessories designer of the Givenchy men’s division.
Tisci’s style is mainly gothic (dark, languid dresses for fall couture) and space-age minimalism. This is because as a teen, he was drawn to goth looks and sported the same.
Tisci is also a favorite among celebrities today, such as Kanye West, Beyonce, Madonna, Adele, Rihanna, and Naomi Campbell. His relationship with these prominent names in music and fashion has sparked many collaborations.
He dressed Rihanna for her Diamond world tour, as well as Beyonce and Jay-Z for their On The Run world tour. In 2014, he collaborated with global sports brand Nike to create the series of Air Force 1 shoes. In July 2016, Tisci will launch a 30-piece sportswear collaboration with Nike called NikeLab x RT: Training Redefined, aimed at Olympic athletes for the 2016 Summer Olympics as everyday gym users. These are apart from his guest-editing stints in art and fashion magazines, as well as other collaborations in music videos, orchestral ballet, and perfume lines.
Tisci is also an avid surfer, fan of the Egyptian sunsets, and gets his inspiration from many sources – including his family. He grew up being surrounded by women – he has eight sisters. This strengthened his attraction to the feminine world, as his style spoke of sensuality, strength and romanticism.
In 2013, Tisci was awarded Best International Designer at the prestigious Telva Fashion Awards. In the same year, he was recognized as the Designer of the Year for his work at Givenchy at the CFDA Fashion Awards.
Since his term, Tisci’s marriage of streetwear influences, Parisian sensibilities and global motifs and trends has made Givenchy a fashion staple, as well as broadening the brand’s appeal exponentially.
Now armed with fashion inspiration and mini history, aren’t you dying to get a Givenchy Lucrezia bag or a Louis Vuitton mini trunk bag? Once you do, sign them up for a care package at Doctor Leather! 🙂