Minimalism prevailed at Givenchy on Sunday evening as creative director Clare Waight Keller harked back to Paris and New York in the early 90s - specifically 1993 - for her spring/summer 20 collection.

There were ripped stone-wash jeans, oversized blazers, smooth block leather midi skirts worn with bandeau tops and that 90s shoe staple: square-toed platform mules.

Waight Keller explained backstage that she wanted to revisit the era through a modern feminist lens after reading Alison Yarrow’s 90s Bitch: Media, Culture, and the Failed Promise of Gender Equality. 

The 2018 book examines the way media portrayals of headline-hitting women including Monica Lewinsky, Tonya Harding and Anita Hill fuelled sexism.

The result, she said, is a “more armoured” take on the clothes of the time, The Guardian reported her as saying.

While hemlines may be longer and barely-there slip dresses replaced with sturdy bralets, the slip-on leather mules remained pretty faithful to their predecessors. 

The squared toes were slightly more exaggerated, but heels were where Waight Keller really played around, introducing two-tone shades and subtle stripes for a more architectural feel.

Givenchy’s toughened-up 90s mules have us dreaming of summer already.

Images: Getty