“I really wanted to create a synthesis of powerful, sophisticated femininity, with an interplay of multiple American and Parisian influences, sports and craftsmanship,” says Givenchy’s Matthew Williams. “Next to her stands a contemporary man with an instinct for chic nonchalance.” The creative director’s Fall/Winter 2022 collection achieves just what it set out to be: an assortment of garments that elevates the everyday—taking the ordinary and dressing it up, imbuing it with a sense of occasion.

The key to the women’s and men’s presentation was balance: between drama and reserve, the layered and straightforward, luxury and utility, formal and sport. Models wore double-breasted, sleeveless dresses, thigh-high leather boots, and pearl-studded oversized denim. There were iterations on the Kenny bag, as well as the TK 360 knitted sneaker. Black was the show’s primary color, but it came to encompass some other dark jewel tones—purple, brown, dark green, and dark yellow.

Williams took inspiration from the house’s founder, designing with his sense of “practical ornamentality” in mind. “Elements from Hubert de Givenchy’s haute couture archive punctuate the collection,” reads the label’s press release, “modified and brought to the point of today.”