Riccardo Tisci
Riccardo Tisci has revealed it required a lot of hard work to turn around Givenchy and their fortunes.
The French fashion house's creative director took on the role in 2005, following in the footsteps of John Galliano and Alexander McQueen, but he admits joining the company - which was haemorrhaging money at the time - in a downturn proved an almost impossible challenge.
He lamented: "Oh my God, it was tough at the start. People would turn up really late for work. It was because everyone in the company had almost given up. So it was really hard the first three years - 24 hours a day dedicated to this house."
The 39-year-old designer's hard work and dedication to turning the brand around soon rubbed off on his colleagues and Riccardo has since been hailed for leading Givenchy's clothing in bold new directions, as well as making the company profitable.
He added to The Telegraph newspaper: "The staff would see me working till midnight and coming in at seven in the morning and they began to realise that I really believed in it. So they were very sweet and helpful. I always say if you don't get people from the heart, you won't get anywhere."
Riccardo recently unveiled Givenchy's spring/summer 2014 collection at Paris Fashion Week and he says his gothic, black leather-infused designs were in fact inspired by Givenchy's history.
He said: "Black tailoring - it's what this house was always known for."
Tagged in John Galliano Alexander McQueen Givenchy