The Givenchy Pre-Fall 2022 collection featured uncomplicated cuts with minimal but noticeable detailing: tailoring like the women’s slightly boxy skirt suit adorned with hardware. You could even add the monogrammed denim suit to that exemplification, although it technically doesn’t count as tailoring.

“It’s a pre-collection and it’s a spring drop, you know, so there’s less layering,” said Matthew M. Williams. “It needs to be elevated and cool but also something that people can really wear. I think that’s why the proportions on the silhouette are much more real.”

As observed in the gritty plaid jackets or super-textured rip-and-repair jeans, efforts to make Givenchy a streetwear brand are valiant and no doubt lucrative. Take for instance the 360 knitted sneakers, the G-woven sandals and mules, or the new 4G soft monogram bag—or, indeed, the Kenny, named after Kendall Jenner. But somehow you can feel the ghost of the old house gently pulling its current custodian toward a more classic expression. It’s in the preened and polished sartorial sector that Williams’s Givenchy can really make a statement in a fashion climate where such dress codes have become a matter of choice rather than protocol.