As if it wasn’t enough to design women’s, men’s, and couture, not to mention land one of the biggest Oscars gets of them all in Cate Blanchett, not to mention maintaining the front-runner position in the who-will-replace-Galliano-at-Dior guessing game, Givenchy’s Riccardo Tisci has revealed exclusively to Style.com that he’s collaborated with Visionaire on its 60th issue. The topic? Only Tisci’s favorite, of course: religion. The designer curated the entire issue, and all of the work was specially commissioned for the project with the exception of a single never-before-published photograph by Robert Mapplethorpe. Tisci’s one stipulation to his collaborators: no Givenchy credits. Among the contributions, Karl Lagerfeld photographed Carine Roitfeld, Paolo Canevari envisioned Franca Sozzani as a saint, and Givaudan perfumer Yann Vasnier created a Religion scent. Tisci’s proudest achievements: convincing Helmut Lang to participate—”he’s my god,” says the designer—and working on a project with the performance artist Marina Abramović, whom he calls his mother. “Any religion, it’s like a family,” he said. And he means it. The limited-edition issue is a leather-wrapped 228-page hardbound book complete with a case inspired by a church altarpiece. It will be released in June and retail for $425 at select bookstores worldwide and at Givenchy flagship stores.
