Clare Waight Keller's new Givenchy muse may be the newly-minted Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, but for her first Givenchy Couture show since the passing of Hubert de Givenchy in March, Keller journeyed back to Givenchy's roots to pay homage to house's founder and the OG muse that's become synonymous with the house's legacy—Audrey Hepburn. ELLE market director Joann Pailey pointed out Keller's update to Hepburn's iconic black column dress—memorably worn in the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany's—into a sweeping black velvet gown with a hood and side pockets, leaving the open-back design of the original intact. The Givenchy Fall 2018 Couture show was peppered with several other historical references, including the show's final song, "Moon River," plucked from the Breakfast At Tiffany's movie. Givenchy Haute Couture Fall 2018 Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Posthumous tributes aside, Keller drew inspiration from the great outdoors for the Givenchy Couture show, as models waltzed down the mirrored-runway set in the garden of Paris' Archive Nationales in colorful fluffy feathers, tailored suits, and flowing gowns. And on the heels of designing Markle's royal wedding gown, Keller's Givenchy Couture show has everyone wondering which Givenchy piece the Duchess of Sussex will wear next. Getty Images Nerisha Penrose Assistant Editor Nerisha is the assistant editor at ELLE.com, covering all things beauty and fashion. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io<doc-sep>Clare Waight Keller, the Givenchy stylist who grabbed the global fashion spotlight by designing Meghan Markle's wedding dress, paid homage to the storied house's late founder in her latest haute couture collection. On the first day of Paris couture week, the Givenchy show, held in the gardens of the National Archives in the city's Marais district, was shrouded in mystery and old-school Hollywood glamour. It was Keller's first show since the house's founder Hubert de Givenchy died in March at the age of 91. To the sound of Givenchy's muse Audrey Hepburn singing "Moon River", the models strutted down a catwalk that shimmered like a river. Draped dresses, voluminous jewels, and feathers dotted the collection -- 47-year-old Waight Keller's second haute couture offering since she succeeded Riccardo Tisci at Givenchy in March 2017, shortly after leaving rival label Chloe after six years at the helm. The colour palette was essentially black and white. Regal capes abounded -- sometimes short, sometimes sweeping, sometimes hooded. Gem-coloured sequins covered some dresses, evoking mermaid scales. Even the masculine silhouettes also sparkled with sequins. The British artistic director created the boat-necked, sculpted dress that Markle wore for her wedding to Prince Harry on May 19, featuring a five-metre (16-foot) train embroidered with flowers from all 53 Commonwealth countries. Markle also chose Givenchy for her first official engagement on June 14 alongside Queen Elizabeth II, sporting a beige wool crepe dress with a small cape. - A Parisian affair - The official haute couture programme includes 35 shows, running through Wednesday, with collections from 11 nations: Belgium, China, France, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Morocco, The Netherlands, Russia and the United States. Unlike ready-to-wear shows, haute couture rollouts in January and July are a solely Parisian affair. The prestigious "haute couture" label is accorded by the French industry ministry to acknowledge traditional craftsmanship in hand-sewn, custom-made garments using strict criteria. Only 14 fashion houses currently boast the recognition, including Chanel, Christian Dior, Giambattista Valli, Givenchy, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Maison Margiela, Schiaparelli, Alexis Mabille and Stephane Rolland. The catwalk displays of some of the world's most expensive clothes will be followed on Thursday by high-end jewellery collections by the likes of Anna Hu, Bulgari, Chanel, Chopard, De Beers, Dior, Louis Vuitton and Mikimoto. Off the official programme, fashionistas on Sunday were treated to a show of exclusive creations by Sonia Rykiel, the fashion house founded by the influential French designer who died in 2016. Although the house develops ready-to-wear lines, it worked up handmade, limited-edition items to mark its 50th anniversary for the show in the elegant courtyard of the Ecole des Beaux Arts. Artistic director Julie de Libran paid homage to some of the label's classics, with trademark mesh, black contrasted with bright colours, and lots of sequins and embroidery. See-through black tulle skirts were paired with big coats or wool pullovers, while a wedding dress was worn with jeans. The pioneering Rykiel was a fixture in the industry for half a century, buoyed by the Swinging Sixties craze in London and the emerging feminist movement across the globe.<doc-sep>Clare Waight Keller’s couture collection for Givenchy fascinated on multiple levels. For one, she addressed the question of house legacy. What is legacy? Do house codes matter? Should they matter? After the death of Hubert de Givenchy in March at the age of 91, Waight Keller thought it appropriate to make her fall 2108 collection an homage to the founder. It wasn’t her first such statement. In what may be the most famous dress she will ever design, Meghan Markle’s wedding dress, the designer drew inspiration from a 1964 dress photographed in Vogue on Givenchy’s lifelong muse, Audrey Hepburn. Today, it’s Hepburn most people think of when they think of Givenchy. Otherwise, despite a rich, inventive career, Givenchy himself outlasted broad-stroke knowledge of his professional signatures, and Waight Keller’s predecessor Riccardo Tisci so shaped the house in his own likeness that she now needn’t take on the burden of the archives. Instead, Waight Keller chooses to. Her program notes quoted Roger Caillois, from “The Writing of Stones”: “A multitude of new inscriptions is added to the writing in the stones,“ and offered that for fall, she “glimpses beyond the tangible toward a profound and sparking fantasia.” And so she did, the profundity delivered in a multifaceted vision of women. Waight Keller refuses to let a woman’s strength fall prey to romance, yet she delights in allowing the two to coexist. Her fantasy siren projects a near-superhero aura in gowns that combined structure, flou, and sometimes, elements of armor. At the core: the play of feminine and masculine the designer has identified from her deep dive into the Givenchy archives and which, despite her take on a more ethereal bohemian romance at Chloé, she has always loved. (While the focus of the collection was obviously on women, Waight Keller also applied the yin-yang opposition to chic, often daring men’s wear.) The collection started with a strong shoulder that immediately took the fragility out of even the most fluid dresses. Waight Keller worked with bold combinations — white body-con silk with overlays of regal purple velvet and feathers; a diaphanous coral cutaway overlay on a belted silver embroidered gown; a belted, tri-color gown — white, beige, black with the look of a modern-day warrior princess. A gown with a bold shoulder isn’t for everyone, and some looks crossed over to too-obvious retro. But overall, Waight Keller achieved something impressive: She used evening gowns to make a statement about women’s innate power. Of the house founder, Waight Keller said, “He believed in elegance. He believed in chic.” She believes in the beauty of inner power, and wearing it on the outside.<doc-sep>
The Givenchy Haute Couture Fall 2018 finale. Photo: Imaxtree It's been less than a year since Givenchy's Artistic Director Clare Waight Keller presented her debut collection for the LVMH-owned fashion house, but she's already made quite the impression, thanks in no small part to her creation of Meghan Markle's dress for the royal wedding. While the former Chloé designer seems to be setting herself and the label up for both critical and commercial success, Givenchy suffered a huge loss in March, when its founder Hubert de Givenchy — one of France's most celebrated couturiers — passed away at the age of 91. Shortly after the news broke, Waight Keller shared her condolences on Instagram, writing, "I am deeply saddened by the loss of a great man and artist I have had the honor to meet and get to know since my appointment at Givenchy. Not only was he one of the most influential fashion figures of our time, whose legacy still influences modern day dressing, but he also was one of the chicest most charming men I have ever met." To honor his life and legacy, the designer dedicated her Fall 2018 Haute Couture show, presented on Sunday in Paris, to Monsieur Givenchy. Entitled "Caraman," the collection's name references the 19th Century townhouse originally built for the Duke of Caraman where Hubert de Givenchy opened his couture ateliers in 1959 — and where they remain today. (The ornate Avenue George V building also housed the first Givenchy boutique.) According to a release from the brand, the Fall 2018 couture range was meant to be "an homage to [Givenchy's] iconic creations, technique and personal lexicon," as well as "an effervescent and profound celebration of his timeless elegance and grace, imbued with Waight Keller's fresh take on the Givenchy spirit." The 42-look collection included an impressive array of sharply tailored suiting separates and outerwear, cinched-waist dresses, intricate embroideries and embellishments (like feathers) and breezy, lightweight blouses and skirts. Waight Keller touched upon many of Givenchy's signatures from over the years, including clean lines, classic capes, riffs on the "sack dress" silhouette, boat necks and romantic bow details. Very few of the impeccably constructed evening looks would appear out of place on a red carpet, and the daywear would make a smart addition to any man or woman of power's wardrobe — a certain Duchess of Sussex, perhaps. In all, the show was a beautiful homage to the house's past and further proof that Waight Keller is poised to lead Givenchy into a bright future. See the full Givenchy Couture Fall 2018 collection in the gallery below. 42 Gallery 42 Images Want the latest fashion industry news first? Sign up for our daily newsletter.