Has designer Sarah Burton stepped into the feminist void left by the departure of Maria Grazia Chiuri from Dior?
Burton’s first campaign at Givenchy certainly suggests as much. For her debut advertising visuals at the storied maison, the creative director has surrounded herself with a powerhouse team of women. Photographer Collier Schorr, stylist Camilla Nickerson, and makeup artist Lucia Pieroni joined forces with Burton to craft a campaign that feels both intimate and quietly revolutionary.
The stark black-and-white imagery presents a who’s who of today’s runway icons: Adut Akech, Kaia Gerber, Eva Herzigova, Vittoria Ceretti, Nyaduola Gabriel, Emeline Hoareau, and Liu Wen. Yet, the campaign’s most striking moments don’t come from familiar models but from its subversive inclusions: portraits of Nickerson, Pieroni, and even Schorr herself are all part of the lineup.
In an industry where women’s labor so often takes place behind the curtain, Burton turns the camera around, insisting that their presence and their beauty be acknowledged alongside the supermodels. The result is an advertising narrative that pulses with authenticity, celebrating not only the Givenchy woman but also the women who build her world.
“The beauty of all women inspires me – including my team,”
“I wanted to capture the brilliant women I work with amongst the cast – real moments with everyone working together.”
Burton explained in a press release.
Her decision to foreground the female gaze feels especially urgent today. The number of female creative directors at major luxury houses remains vanishingly small, a reality that has become even starker since Chiuri’s exit from Dior. The fashion industry continues to tout inclusivity and diversity in its marketing language, but when it comes to who holds the reins of its most powerful brands, women are still sidelined. Against that backdrop, Burton’s Givenchy campaign reads less like a glossy launch and more like a manifesto: a subtle but deliberate reminder of the strength, intelligence, and multiplicity of women.
By choosing to celebrate multi-generational beauty - women in their twenties alongside women in their sixties, supermodels alongside behind-the-scenes visionaries – Burton is planting her flag in the larger fashion conversation. Representation here isn’t treated as a trend or a token gesture; it is woven into the DNA of the work. In doing so, she offers a glimpse of what the future could look like if more women were entrusted with the keys to luxury’s most hallowed maisons.
In the twenty-first century Givenchy has thrived on an asthetic of elegance with a edge. With Burton at the helm, that edge is now sharpened by a distinctly female point of view, one that insists on celebrating not just what women look like, but who they are and how they contribute.
It’s a refreshing, and frankly necessary, reminder that fashion’s true power lies not in mythologizing women, but in honoring them.
