It has been almost one year to the day since Sarah Burton announced that she would be stepping down from her role as creative director of Alexander McQueen and, since then, the fashion world has been speculating about what she would do next. Today, all rumours are put to rest as Givenchy has announced that Burton will be joining the house as creative director, effective immediately.
The LVMH-owned fashion house has been without a creative director since last December, when Matthew M. Williams announced that he was leaving, after three years in the job. Clare Waight Keller meanwhile held the post from 2017 to 2020 (where she was responsible for designing Meghan Markle’s royal wedding gown), and Riccardo Tisci before her, who held the position for 12 years.
This will mark a new chapter for Givenchy, and Burton’s appointment is a poetic one, with the designer now taking on a role that was once held by her good friend and former boss, Lee McQueen, who led Givenchy in the late Nineties.
“It is a great honour to be joining the beautiful house of Givenchy, it is a jewel,” Burton said in a statement today. “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.”
Burton’s final McQueen show
Burton was creative director of Alexander McQueen for 13 years. She arrived at the fashion house as an intern in 1996, and returned as soon as she graduated, working closely with the house’s late founder. The designer was promoted to head of design for womenswear in 2000 and she was then chosen to take over as creative director after McQueen sadly passed away.
During her time at the house, she made a huge impact on the global fashion industry, picked up various prestigious awards, and was responsible for designing one of the most famous dresses of this generation, Kate Middleton’s wedding gown.
Burton’s first collection for Givenchy will likely be presented during Paris Fashion Week in February 2025.