GIVENCHY is taking a break from creating its couture collection and will not show during the Paris schedule in January.

While it's not yet known how long the intended hiatus is, Riccardo Tisci will continue to produce one-off couture dresses for clients, "special projects" and high-profile red carpet events - such as the 2013 Costume Institute Ball next May - a spokesperson from the brand confirmed to us.

The fashion house stopped presenting large-scale couture catwalk shows in 2010, preferring instead to stage a more intimate presentation. Givenchy will continue to concentrate on its ready-to-wear line and has declined to comment on whether there are any plans to create haute couture collections again in the future.

The news comes as a surprise to many within the industry, considering that the brand's creative director has always had an ardent interest in the couture arm of the business - with a famously visionary approach.

"Couture is like a religion, really I'm very respectful of it and very very protective," he told *Vogue * in the October issue. "When you go into the atelier and you see these ladies working day and night... I want them to feel valued too."