PARIS, Jul 5, 2004/ FW/ --- The Givenchy Menswear Spring / Summer 2005 catwalk presentation started with a short animated video clip ala Matrix and Kill Bill, starring Ozwald Boateng who related Hollywood style his recruitment and eventual appointment as Creative Director of Givenchy Homme.

It was slick, it was fun and most of all, like nearly all of Ozwald Boateng’s creations, discusses about a certain philosophy. The ending of the video clip had Ozwald, after accepting the position at Givenchy, saying, “When you make a decision, stick to it.”

Short and sweet, but it said it all. Ozwald Boateng’s debut at Givenchy was nothing less than triumphant. The London-based designer just raised the venerable fashion house into the level of sleek and cool with just one collection.

Givenchy had been a victim of its own success with Hollywood and its relationship with the world’s most beautiful women. Hubert de Givenchy had dressed screen sirens, the most popular being Audrey Hepburn. He was also one of the couturiers of Jackie Kennedy. Both women are fashion icons, and when a house has that reputation, it is very hard to top it, even by the fashion house itself.

Hubert de Givenchy had retired, and both Audrey Hepburn and Jackie Kennedy are gone. They are legends on their own right.

Expectations are high for any designer who steps into Givenchy as a Creative Director. John Galliano and Alexander McQueen, both of whom are considered design geniuses felt it while they were at the helm of Givenchy. And so did Julien Macdonald.

Ozwald Boateng is in a unique position though. There is no ‘history’ associated with Givenchy Homme. Yet, like his predecessors, expectations on him are very high, which he passed with flying colors today at the Musée d’Art Moderne.

As the designer explained backstage after the show, it is about a “feeling of Givenchy, an atmosphere,” and if I may add, it’s about an impression and tone.

Having dressed the most visible male stars in Hollywood, such as Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne and Will Smith, Ozwald Boateng has an instinctive understanding of the House’s Hollywood connection. So, he did not try to recreate a ‘male version’ of the Givenchy legendary looks. Rather, Ozwald went for its notion, intuitively going for the jugular, hitting the right spot.

As for “dressing fashion icons” part of the House, Ozwald Boateng does not even have to worry about that. According to him, “there is no male fashion icon as of this moment.”

Explaining his position, he said, “To be a fashion icon, one has to be consistent on their way of dressing. There are a lot of men who dress very well today. Unfortunately, none of them are very consistent.”

Very well spoken, intelligent and a good dresser himself, Ozwald Boateng can well be Givenchy Homme’s poster boy in the seasons to come. A male fashion icon in the making, perhaps.