Pre-owned Givenchy

Givenchy has had a run of creative directors, and a used piece usually belongs to one of them. Hubert de Givenchy founded the house on tailoring. On a piece from his own time, judge the jacket or the dress by its seams and its lining. John Galliano and then Alexander McQueen followed him. On a piece from either, do the same, and check the seams and the lining rather than the corners.

Start with Riccardo Tisci’s bags. The Antigona is his, with its trapezoid body and hanging tag. So are the Nightingale, a slouchy doctor’s bag, and the Pandora, a boxy cube on a shoulder strap. Turn any of them over and look at the base corners for grain rubbed smooth, then run along the handles and each strap join for a loose or broken stitch. Clare Waight Keller added the GV3, a chain bag with a flap, and the Antigona Soft, a lighter version whose leather creases where the original holds its shape. Matthew Williams brought the 4G plaque. On a Williams piece, look at the plaque and the base feet for plating rubbed through to a yellow or grey base.

Read the interior stamp and the zip pull under a lamp and compare what you see with the page’s description. Where a laboratory document exists, the page says so.

Kove does not group Givenchy by named line, so the house is set out by category on the Givenchy page. Bags are the structured day styles in firm grained leather. Shoes are checked first at the sole edge and heel tip. Clothing runs to tailoring and the printed pieces with the house lettering. Accessories are the belts and small leather goods that match the bags in hardware, and hats have a category of their own. The condition of each piece is described on its page, and the price you see is the final price.