Is Riccardo Tisci one of his kind? Most definitely. Probably because what best characterises the path taken by the new Creative Director at Givenchy is the result of an interaction of phenomena which are atypical. From the very outset his life, there has been a succession of unusual events and choices. At the age of 17, the young teenager, originally from Taranto in the deep south of Italy, nonetheless let go of their apron strings and bravely left his country to begin studying design at the Saint Martin School of Arts in London. After graduating with honours from the famous English institution, he returned to Italy and worked for almost five years in the shadows of brands such as Antonio Berardi, Co ccapani, Puma and Ruffo Research. In September 2004 he presented his first collection under his own name. A feeling of new elegance, innovative savoir-faire and modern chic now seems to be the guideline for his pertinent interpretation of the Givenchy spirit- the French couture house to which the Italian is dedicating himself completely.