Riccardo Tisci
Encyclopedia
Riccardo Tisci is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
) is an Italian fashion design
Fashion design
Fashion design is the art of the application of design and aesthetics or natural beauty to clothing and accessories. Fashion design is influenced by cultural and social latitudes, and has varied over time and place. Fashion designers work in a number of ways in designing clothing and accessories....
er. He graduated from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Central Saint Martins Academy in 1999, and in 2005 was named Creative Director for Givenchy
Givenchy
Givenchy is a French brand of clothing, accessories, perfumes and cosmetics with Parfums Givenchy.The house of Givenchy was founded in 1952 by designer Hubert de Givenchy and is a member of Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture et du Pret-a-Porter...
womenswear and haute couture
Haute couture
Haute couture refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted clothing. Haute couture is made to order for a specific customer, and it is usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail and finished by the most experienced and capable seamstresses,...
. In May 2008 he was also named as menswear and accessories designer of the Givenchy men's division.
Tisci's apparent fascination with Gothic touches (dark, languid dresses for fall couture) and space-age minimalism (one ready-to-wear show featured white-clad models drifting around a sterile-white sphere) have drawn new attention to the Givenchy brand. Reviews and output so far have been mixed and inconsistent, but many, including influential fashion critics (such as Cathy Horyn
Cathy Horyn
Cathy Horyn is an American fashion journalist, working as the fashion critic for The New York Times where she also keeps a highly noted and provocative blog called...
of the New York Times and Suzy Menkes
Suzy Menkes
Suzy Menkes, OBE has been head fashion reporter and Editor for the International Herald Tribune since 1988. In that time she has written over 1.7 million words in the paper....
of the International Herald Tribune
International Herald Tribune
The International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international newspaper. It combines the resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 38 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 160 countries and territories...
) have homed in on Tisci's conceptual leanings, as well as his future potential for revitalizing the Givenchy brand and infusing it with his precision and imagination.
Biography
Tisci was born in TarantoTaranto
Taranto is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. The city of Taranto is said to be mythologically tied with mermaids and marines, which often influences Tisci in his collections for both Givenchy ready-to-wear and haute couture.
After graduating from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in 1999, Tisci worked for a succession of companies such as Puma
PUMA AG
Puma SE, officially branded as PUMA, is a major German multinational company that produces high-end athletic shoes, lifestyle footwear and other sportswear. Formed in 1924 as Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik by Adolf and Rudolf Dassler, relationships between the two brothers deteriorated until the two...
and Coccapani before signing a three-year contract with Ruffo Research, which launched the careers of a plethora of fashion designers, such as Sophia Kokosalaki
Sophia Kokosalaki
Sophia Kokosalaki is a Greek fashion designer with her own label based in London. A graduate of London's Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, she was chosen to design the opening and closing ceremonial outfits for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, which were staged in her home town of...
.
Once his contract had expired in July 2004, Tisci began to work on his own collection, which he exhibited for Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
Fall 2005/2006 Fashion week. Shortly after, he was appointed by Givenchy as the creative director and made the following statement "I am delighted to join Givenchy
Givenchy
Givenchy is a French brand of clothing, accessories, perfumes and cosmetics with Parfums Givenchy.The house of Givenchy was founded in 1952 by designer Hubert de Givenchy and is a member of Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture et du Pret-a-Porter...
and very proud to be able to bring my vision to this prestigious French haute couture house, whose history inspires me."
Givenchy explained his fall-winter 2010-2011 menswear collection as being influenced by his deep Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
roots:
"Religion is a big part of my DNA and this collection was about my Catholic(ism) and every other religion in a way."
Givenchy
On February 28, 2005, Riccardo Tisci was officially appointed as the creative director of the Haute Couture, ready-to-wear and accessories lines for GivenchyGivenchy
Givenchy is a French brand of clothing, accessories, perfumes and cosmetics with Parfums Givenchy.The house of Givenchy was founded in 1952 by designer Hubert de Givenchy and is a member of Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture et du Pret-a-Porter...
, a job he almost turned down. Tisci's original plan was to focus on his own fashion line, however upon finding out that his mother was about to sell her house to help his sisters, he decided to accept Givenchy's offer. "[...] my mother called me and said to me, ‘I am going to tell you something I haven’t even told your sisters: I think I am going to sell our house because your sisters are struggling, they’re having children, they need the money. I will go to a retirement home.’ When I heard that it was like a knife in my heart. I felt like such a failure, that my mother had to sell the house of my father whom I don’t remember. And then I went to Paris, and they showed me a contract with all these zeros on it, and it was like help from God. I thought ‘If I sign this, my mother will never have to worry again.’ So I signed it.” Givenchy boss Marco Gobbetti, spoke of Tisci's appointment as being a "perfect fit for us". Gobbetti adds, "He [Tisci] has an elegance that is very modern, very contemporary and romantic at the same time".
Unlike the various designers before him who succeeded Mr. Givenchy himself, Tisci has encountered great success, both critically and financially. Especially in the realm of Haute Couture, where Tisci asserts "When I arrived we had five customers. Now we have 29."
Riccardo Tisci's runway presentations are highly stylized in terms of architecture and space. Tisci says of this; " My way of showing is very melancholic... I love romanticism and sensuality ".
Tisci, under Givenchy, designed the costumes for Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
's Sticky & Sweet Tour
Sticky & Sweet Tour
The Sticky & Sweet Tour was the eighth worldwide concert tour by American singer Madonna to promote her eleventh studio album, Hard Candy. It began in August 2008 and was Madonna's first tour from her new recording and business deal with Live Nation. The tour was announced in February 2008, with...
in 2008, following Jean Paul Gaultier and Dolce & Gabbana
Dolce & Gabbana
Dolce & Gabbana is an Italian luxury industry fashion house. The company was started by the Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana in Milan, Italy. By 2005 their turnover was €597 million....
. In 2009, for the encore of the tour he designed another costume for the tours opening song Candy Shop. He also delivered customized clothing for Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
when she's not on stage.
For the Givenchy Fall-Winter 2010 collection he has included a new model, a Brazilian transsexual named Lea T
Lea T
Lea T , is a Brazilian fashion model.- Biography :Lea T is the daughter of well-known former Brazilian football player Toninho Cerezo. Lea was assigned "male" at birth, but now identifies as female...
. This is someone he worked with for years, T, whose former name was Leo, was his longtime personal assistant.
In 2011, he has been widely considered to be John Galliano
John Galliano
John Charles Galliano CBE, RDI is a Gibraltan-born British fashion designer who was best known as head designer of French haute couture houses Givenchy and Christian Dior , and his own self titled fashion house.-Family:He was born in Gibraltar to a Gibraltarian father, Juan Galliano, and a...
's most likely successor as head designer of Christian Dior
Christian Dior
Christian Dior , was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, also called Christian Dior.-Life:...
. However, according to Dior's CEO, Sidney Toledano, a replacement will not be officially named until fall.
Projects
In 2008, Riccardo Tisci was invited to curate the issue 8 of A MagazineA Magazine
A Magazine was founded in 1989 by Jeff Yang, Amy Chu, Sandi Kim and Bill Yao to cover Asian American issues and culture, and grew out of a campus magazine Yang edited while an undergraduate at Harvard University....
curated by.
In 2011, Tisci guest-edited Visionaire
Visionaire
Visionaire is an art and fashion publication that has come out in limited, numbered editions three times a year since spring 1991. Each issue has a specific format and theme around which prominent artists, designers, photographers, and others guests edit the publication...
's RELIGION issue.
He also designed the cover for Watch The Throne
Watch the Throne
Watch the Throne is a collaborative studio album by American rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West, released on August 8, 2011, by Roc-A-Fella Records, Roc Nation, and Def Jam Recordings. Recording sessions for the album took place at various recording locations and began in November 2010. It was...
by Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
and Kanye West
Kanye West
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
.
Collaborations
Italian Model Mariacarla BosconoMariacarla Boscono
Mariacarla Boscono is an Italian model.-Early life:Boscono was born in Rome, Italy. She spent most of her early life travelling because of her father's work. Her parents lived in Thailand before she was born, but after her mother became pregnant they moved to Rome. She spent a couple of years in...
often appears in his runway shows and ad campaigns, owing possibly to the fact that Tisci has had a friendship with her since before his days at Givenchy.
Tisci also collaborated with American rappers Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
and Kanye West
Kanye West
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
to create the single covers for H•A•M
H•A•M
"H•A•M" is a song by American rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West, released as the first single from their collaboration album Watch the Throne. It debuted at #23 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It was released as a digital download on iTunes on January 11, 2011. It was produced by Lexus "Lex Luger" Lewis...
and Otis
Otis
-People:*Otis family, Prominent American political family*Otis *Otis -Fictional characters:*Otis, a puppy in The Adventures of Milo and Otis*Otis the Aardvark, a BBC puppet character...
, as well as the album cover for Watch the Throne
Watch the Throne
Watch the Throne is a collaborative studio album by American rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West, released on August 8, 2011, by Roc-A-Fella Records, Roc Nation, and Def Jam Recordings. Recording sessions for the album took place at various recording locations and began in November 2010. It was...
.