Kate’s wedding dress designer Sarah Burton announced as new Givenchy creative director
Sarah Burton has been announced as the new creative director of Givenchy, the LVMH-owned French fashion house.
The British designer is perhaps best known for creating the Princess of Wales’s wedding dress and Pippa Middleton’s maid of honour dress for the 2011 royal wedding.
Burton succeeds Matthew Williams, who stepped down from Givenchy as creative director in January after three years in the role, leaving the house’s studio team to lead design in the interim period.
“It is a great honor to be joining the beautiful house of Givenchy, it is a jewel,” Burton said in a statement. “I am so excited to be able to write the next chapter in the story of this iconic house and to bring to Givenchy my own vision, sensibility and beliefs.”
Burton joined Alexander McQueen in 1997 and quickly became head of womenswear in 2000. Following McQueen’s death in February 2010, Burton was announced the new creative director of the brand.
Her first collection shown in Paris received critical acclaim, and during her tenure she dressed celebrities like Lady Gaga, Michelle Obama, Cate Blanchett and Beyonce.
Burton also designed Kate’s maid of honour’s dress, worn by her sister, Pippa Middleton, which had capped sleeves and a scooped neckline.
Kate has worn Burton’s designs on numerous public appearances, including a blue suit on a visit to Surrey prison days after the designer announced she would be stepping down from Alexander McQueen. The decision to wear the suit seemingly paid tribute to the Burton’s service to British fashion.
She was named Designer of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in 2011, and was awarded an OBE in 2012 for her services to the fashion industry.
The move is significant, as it makes Burton one of the few female designers to hold the creative director title at a major fashion house – with her peers including Stella McCartney and Maria Grazia Chiuri at Dior.
How Burton will bring the techniques she’s become known for to the French fashion house will be revealed next year, as her debut for Givenchy will be for autumn/winter 2025 in March at Paris Fashion Week.