Givenchy’s SS23 show took place in the Jardins des Plantes, a botanical hub for new and hybridised discoveries in the natural world. This green-tinged expanse also served as meta-commentary on the cross-pollination of French and American style Matthew M. Williams has attempted to implement during his headline-making tenure at the Parisian fashion house.

This season sought to jumble even more of these codes, blending the elegance of french eveningwear with the rigid, utilitarian cuts so prevalent in metropolitan workwear. Williams’ experiment included blazers with nip-waisted corset details, distressed denim cut-offs with plentiful cargo pockets and midi-skirts made out of conjoined trousers legs and reinforced with carpenter knees and chunky belt loops. There were tweed suits cut in boxy, cropped formations, olive-hued hoodies with raw hems and flouncy silk trousers with layered denim waistbands.

The Givenchy woman of today simply isn’t resigned to either a cocktail party or handiwork session. Her wardrobe must reflect the contradictions of our modern, “digitally borderless” world – so thrown in are tough leather motorbike jackets and see-through lace blouses with ruffled necklines. There’s a hard-edged pageantry to it all, a mix of the smooth, like in the brand’s bubble-gum pink bra-nesses, and the glittering (see Williams’ draped mini-dresses and pleated skirts with art-deco rhinestone patternwork). Wave goodbye to ‘Parisian Chic’ and ‘California Cool’, and hello to a spirit undefinable.