Givenchy Spring 2023 Men's Ad Campaign Review

Review of Givenchy Spring 2023 Men’s Ad Campaign by Givenchy Creative Director & Photographer Matthew M. Williams with Alkaline as model

Givenchy presents its latest campaign for its spring 2023 menswear collection, featuring the prolific Jamaican music phenomenon Alkaline. The images were photographed by Creative Director Matthew M. Williams in New York City.

Photography – and taking portraits of artists I’m inspired by – is something I have always loved to do.
– Givenchy Creative Director Matthew M. Williams

There’s a deep connection between Givenchy and the actors, musicians and athletes who wear its clothes, and I immediately felt that kind of connection with Alkaline: when something’s right, you can just feel it. He inspires me both as an artist and as a human being, so for this campaign I wanted to keep the focus on who he is and the very natural, authentic way he wears clothing — which is exactly my intention as a designer.

– Givenchy Creative Director Matthew M. Williams

The Givenchy Spring 2023 men’s global advertising campaign continues to explore the tension and contrast between Givenchy’s tailoring heritage and the urban aesthetic Matthew M. Williams has established for the House.

The stark silhouette of Alkaline appearing in hero pieces in Williams’s images punctuates the focus on how the Creative Directors vision remains a singular enmeshing of the luxury house’s couture heritage – translated via cut and construction – with an urban underpinning which has been a part of his own brand DNA since the start, and which has seamlessly transferred into this new era for Givenchy, which has been welcomed and readily adopted by the “actors, musicians, and athletes who wear its clothes”.

Mimicking the energy and simplicity that defines some of the most innovative brands that inhabit the experimental street, sport, and skate space, Williams acknowledges the importance of the impact recording artists like Alkaline are having and have contributed to the exponential growth and interest in the menswear market. So, to feature him here in close-up and full-length shots as the main protagonist is a bold and necessary move. Williams – who has been known to express his love of creating clothes he himself wants to wear – is fully aligned with a generation of menswear enthusiasts who are driving the category.

Highlighting the relaxed, almost baggy styling of camouflage-inspired sets worn with the dynamic TK-MX sneakers, the latest addition to the cult TK-360 family, in silver and acid green, Day-Glo performance sportswear, and a particular style of early 2000s hip-hop-inspired bomber jacket, complete with the artists signature bandanna, paired with black-on-black tailoring brings forth the directors desire to continue creating ‘tension and contrast’ between these two menswear personas.