Clare Waight Keller is departing Givenchy after an eventful three-year stint as its artistic director, WWD has learned.
The British designer, who catapulted Givenchy’s international prominence — and her own — by dressing Meghan Markle for her royal nuptials in 2018, departs the French brand at the end of her initial contract.
Her last collection was the fall 2020 women’s ready-to-wear, paraded on March 1 during Paris Fashion Week.
The development underscores a trend for shorter tenures at heritage brands, and sets the stage for yet another reinvention at the storied couture house, controlled by luxury giant LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton since 1998.
“Focusing on a world based on haute couture has been one of the highlights of my professional journey,” Waight Keller said in a statement shared first with WWD.
“I have shared so many incredible moments with the brilliant Givenchy ateliers and design teams: Your exceptional talent and dedication will forever remain in my memories. My heartfelt thanks go out to each of the unsung heroes and heroines behind the scenes, for their contribution from product to communications and retail, and every global team member, partner and supplier in between.”
Givenchy said it would announce a new “creative organization” at a later date.
Given the absence of an artistic director, and factory shutdowns amid the coronavirus outbreak, Givenchy has canceled its women’s pre-spring collection, and it will not produce a fall 2020 couture collection. It plans to prepare a big men’s collection — combining pre-spring and runway — for sale in its showrooms in June.