On Sarah Burton's new vision for Givenchy: Can she reinvent the fashion house?

In a preview Sarah Burton had talked about returning to Givenchy’s roots, and how she had been inspired by discovering the patterns from Hubert De Givenchy’s first collection, from 1952. Photo: Givenchy

At least a quarter of an hour before the Givenchy show was to begin (March 7), the white-walled salons of the brand’s headquarters on Avenue George V began to fill up with guests.

To understand why that is significant, consider the fact that in the skewed reality of fashion, a show is considered to have started on time if it begins half an hour late.