Common Wants to Wear Givenchy SS24 to the Emmys

Last Thursday at the Musée de l’Armée in the Hotel National des Invalides, once a hospital for French war veterans, artistic director Matthew M. Williams presented his vision for Givenchy SS24—an elegant collection designed for the modern man, with panache and play. Tailored and over-sized tuxedos in muted tones were contrasted by pink-hued hoodies in fuzzy textiles; cropped jackets were layered over sweater vests and button-down shirts, a styling twist evocative of an edgy schoolboy. Common, the multihyphenate who’s three-fourths of the way to an EGOT, sat front row—his first time at a Paris runway show—and called us afterwards on his way to London to review the collection and reveal the latest addition to his growing French vocabulary.

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MACIAS: Hello, good morning.

COMMON: What’s going on? How you doing?

MACIAS: I’m doing fantastic. Thank you for doing this. I know you’re quite busy, so I am just going to get right into it.

COMMON: Yes, no problem. Bonjour.

MACIAS: Well, I’m in New York, but bonjour. We’ll keep it French. Are you still in Paris?

COMMON: No, I just got back to London.

MACIAS: Nice. How long were you in Paris?

COMMON: I was in Paris for 24 hours. No, a little bit over 24 hours.

MACIAS: In and out just for the show. Let’s talk this Givenchy men’s show. What was the vibe?

COMMON: It had something fresh and it was powerful. It had power. I felt in a way just because of the location, too. It felt artistic.

MACIAS: Can you describe the venue a little bit?

COMMON: It was at Hotel National des Invalides, they pronounce it in French. It was a former military place for people who had lost limbs in war, it was a hospital for them. So it had this structure that was really beautiful. And you know things in France, man, they just built things beautifully. I was talking about this yesterday, these things were built years ago and still feel timeless. You could feel the historic classicness to it. Sometimes you go places and you’re like, “Man, I really feel like I’m in this space in Paris where it’s like a historic and unique space that you can only get in Paris.” That’s what it felt like to me. Obviously, the environment and the venue you pick for your show are going to impact and influence the show. And it did. The runway was a square, so all the models just walked on this concrete stone square, it didn’t feel cold for it to be all concrete. It felt artistic. I think Paris brings that.

MACIAS: What did you wear to the show? Can you describe the look for me?

COMMON: Well, I wore a leather two-piece. A top that was short sleeves. What tone was that? It was nude. It was really classy but it didn’t feel overdone, is what I’m saying. It felt classy and easy, which is what I liked about it.

MACIAS: Were you vibing with the outfit? You felt confident?

COMMON: I felt great in it, man. I was like, “Okay, I’m feeling good.” Getting to the show and seeing everybody in Givenchy—I had on these boots too. I was in Givenchy from the top to the bottom. Man, you go to these shows knowing that it’ll be other people that you like. And then I just felt good about what I was wearing.

MACIAS: That’s good. Did you have a favorite look from the show, one that stuck out to you the most?

COMMON: Well, it was a tailored suit that I really loved. It was actually the last model who was walking in the show. Man, this suit, it was a tailored suit that was really classic and just really extraordinary. I really loved it.

MACIAS: If you were to wear the collection out in the real world, where would you wear it?

COMMON: Actually, I might wear that to the Emmy’s or to a gala.

MACIAS: Elegant.

COMMON: Yeah. An elegant gala.

MACIAS: When was the last time you were in Paris for a fashion show, if you can tell me?

COMMON: The last time I was in Paris for a fashion show was never have I ever, no.

MACIAS: Oh, it’s your first time?

COMMON: I haven’t been to Paris for a fashion show. I enjoyed it. Our whole day yesterday was wonderful. Givenchy was the spark of it. I enjoyed seeing different actors and artists and designers. Really cool. I sat next to Paul Dano, the actor. Extraordinary actor, really. And Jared Leto was close to us. And also Skepta was right around, and Noomi Rapace.

MACIAS: Oooh, that’s a good crowd. What, if any, is your favorite French word?

COMMON: My favorite French word right now is allez, which means ready/go.

MACIAS: Ready. Let’s go.

COMMON: I have a personal assistant, he’s French, so I’m learning French in the slowest way possible, but allez is the word that I hear a lot and I like that word.

MACIAS: What else you got going on?

COMMON: Oh man, I’m about to go watch this Wes Anderson movie called Asteroid City. And I’m probably going to tell my friends to make sure they watching Silo on Apple TV.

MACIAS: That’s a good plug right there. I like that.

COMMON: Enjoy your day in New York. Au revoir.

MACIAS: Au revoir.