Sarah Burton has just rewritten one of Givenchy’s most recognizable boots. The cult Shark shape gets a thigh-high update. It wraps the leg like a second skin. It carries the metal Pinch detail Burton borrowed from her own handbag design. The Shark Pinch Boot is now available in six variations.
A collection built on cut and silhouette
The Shark Pinch Boot is part of the Fall/Winter 2026 collection, Sarah Burton’s third full collection for Givenchy. It builds on the foundations of cut, tailoring and silhouette she set the moment she arrived at the house. This time, she turns them inside out. She drew inspiration from painterly themes and sculptural forms, with nods to Northern European old masters.
A heavy duchesse satin coat, slashed floral evening gowns and headpieces by Stephen Jones make up a wardrobe. It’s meant to reflect the many-sidedness of women’s lives. The same gesture carries over off the runway too. A classic white shirt is reworked here in soft leather. Sharply cut blazers stand next to playful, extravagant accessories.
Rock, not a studio
The seasonal campaign was shot by Juergen Teller, not in a studio, but on the rugged coast of Croatia. Granite and limestone rocks make the tailoring feel harder. Floral prints, in turn, feel less delicate. Styling came from Camilla Nickerson.
“The Women,” not models
Burton cast Kaia Gerber, Eva Herzigová, Liu Wen and Nyaduol Gabriel. Givenchy calls them “The Women” in its press materials, not models. All of them are part of what the house describes as an extended Givenchy family. This family helps shape the brand’s current chapter.
Crossover: when a campaign casts a writer
Among the faces of the campaign is also Constance Debré, a French writer and former criminal lawyer. In 2015, she left both her career and her marriage behind. She now writes full time. Her loose trilogy, Play Boy, Love Me Tender and Nom, ranks among the most striking works of autofiction in contemporary French literature. Love Me Tender tells the story of a fight for custody of her son. In it, Debré lives out her relationships with women in public view. The book was also adapted into a film, directed by Anna Cazenave Cambet. Her prose is cold, precise, almost legal in tone. It’s the exact opposite of a conventional modeling cast. Casting her in a fashion campaign isn’t just about a face. It’s a gesture toward a literary world that doesn’t usually cross paths with Givenchy.
Crossover: the lineage behind one pair of boots
Burton arrived at Givenchy after 26 years at Alexander McQueen, where clothing always functioned as architecture on the body. These new boots are exactly that inheritance, carried over to the house next door.
Ariana Grande and Anya Taylor-Joy already had the Shark Pinch Boot on their feet before it even hit stores. It’s now available on givenchy.com and in stores.
