Thirst Trap, Fashion Week Edition: Givenchy Moves Runway Shows to NYC

Can you hear that high-pitched squealing in the distance, seeping into your earholes at the quiet, desperate decibel of a rubber balloon slowly bloodletting molecules of helium? That is your psychic vision of the thirst that will accompany invites to the Givenchy runway show when it relocates from Paris to New York City this fall.

Fashion Week is always a rather desperate occasion, particularly in the post-Instagram star era, where self-fashioned internet style mavens seem to crowd out both the actual streets of New York as well as the people who have any actual reason to attend runway shows. (I.e. writers, editors, buyers and, I guess, celebrities.) Along with that comes the palpable NEED to land coveted tickets, and to be totally cynical about it, the definition of “coveted” often corresponds directly to whom attendees are going to see. The starrier the front row, the more frantic the scramble for entry, coupled with the pervasive and extremely stupid notion in fashion that if you can’t get in, you’re not somebody, which may be the most classist tenet in an industry built on classist tenets. (That said: the classist vibes at Paris Fashion Week makes New York Fashion Week feel like a county fair. Gotta give it up for the bourgeouisie.)

When it comes to starpower, Givenchy has it in excess—Creative Director Riccardo Tisci is close personal friends with Kim & Kanye & Bey & Jay, which should say enough but he’s also got a full roster of more fans and homies that puts him in the top echelon of celebrity designers by association. Couple that with the fact that he’s one of the most interesting designers working, crafting consistently beautiful, delicate pieces almost without fail (though his appropriation train needs to chill the hell out), plus a pedigree abroad, and it’s the recipe for what will most likely be the hottest ticket at NYFW this autumn. Expect to experience Twitter, Instagram, and the city itself at its neediest. God bless, may we live through this thirstpocalypse!