Hubert de Givenchy

Background

Hubert de Givenchy was born on February 20, 1927, in Beauvais, France. He was the youngest of two sons of Béatrice Badin, who was known as Sissi, and Lucien Taffin de Givenchy, the marquis of Givenchy. His mother’s family was well connected with the great tapestry artisans of Beauvais, and his father’s had been ennobled in the 18th century. His parents gave him and his brother, Jean-Claude, an aristocratic heritage. After Lucien died of influenza in 1930, Hubert and his brother, Jean Claude, were brought up by their mother and maternal grandparents.

Education

The young Givenchy was fascinated by his grandfather’s collection of clothes and clothes from around the world, treasures he was only allowed to view if he did well at school. Developing an interest in fashion, he became obsessed with the idea of meeting the Haute couturier he admired above all, Balenciaga.

At the age of ten Givenchy visited the World’s Fair in Paris in 1937. The trip started Givenchy’s interest in fashion. After studying at the College Felix Faure in Beauvais, Givenchy left for Paris to study at the École Nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts to follow his passion for fashion.

At 17 he was apprenticed to the Parisian designer Jacques Fath, but he did not remain with Fath for long; during the next eight years, he designed for the major Parisian fashion houses of Robert Piguet, Lucien Lelong, and Elsa Schiaparelli, in turn.

Career

Givenchy opened his own design house in 1952, maintaining a modest business plan. His debut collection was a hit, featuring separates such as long skirts and tailored tops that included the Bettina blouse, named after model Bettina Graziani. In his following collections, he highlighted elegant evening gowns, feminine hats, and tailored suits. The Givenchy name thus became synonymous with Parisian chic.

In 1953, Givenchy met Spanish designer Cristóbal Balenciaga, whom he greatly admired and who became a beloved mentor. In the mid-1950s, the two teamed up to introduce a new silhouette called the "sack," a loose form without any waistline.

Givenchy became the first major fashion designer to present a luxury R-T-W collection. At the time he was one of the youngest designers on the Paris fashion scene and, in 1953, his designs were featured on the cover of Life.

In 1953 Givenchy expected to meet Katharine Hepburn for a fitting. However, Audrey Hepburn arrived instead. The meeting resulted in a lifelong friendship between the two. The ongoing relationship saw Givenchy design almost all of her wardrobes in later movies including Sabrina, Funny Face, and Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

As Hepburn’s fame grew, so did Givenchy’s, together entering the circle of the world’s best-dressed women. Together the designer and his muse created a new kind of beauty, which helped develop the sixties-inspired style.

Givenchy also handled design duties on the Hepburn films Love in the Afternoon (1957), Charade (1963), Paris When It Sizzles (1964), and How to Steal a Million (1966). In 1957, Audrey Hepburn lent her face to Hubert de Givenchy’s first perfume, L’Interdit, which was dedicated to her.

Givenchy used Hepburn to promote the fragrance, marking the first time an actress allowed her face to be used for perfume. The partnership was an enormous success with Americans adoring the duo.

Givenchy kept close relationships with his clients often crossing the line between couturier and friendship. Notably, in 1972, Givenchy dressed his friend the Duchess of Windsor in a black dress and coat for her husband’s funeral, which he made in less than 48 hours.

Having previously delayed launching licensing agreements upon the advice of his mentor Cristóbal Balenciaga, Givenchy finally did so in the seventies to ensure the continuation of his haute couture collections. This followed with the fashion house’s expansion moving into home collections, jewelry, shoes, and even a car in 1976, the Ford Lincoln Continental.

In 1988 Givenchy joined LVMH. Three years later Givenchy celebrated forty years in fashion. Holding an exhibition at the Palais Galliera in Paris, Hepburn inaugurated the proceedings.

After selling his business to the luxury conglomerate Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessey in 1988, Givenchy designed for seven more years, retiring and presenting his final collection in 1995. He was succeeded as a head designer by enfant terrible John Galliano, with Alexander McQueen and Riccardo Tisci later serving as head designers.

Since his retirement from fashion in 1995, Mr. Givenchy remained active in the arts as an antiques expert for Christie’s, the Château de Versailles, and the Louvre museum. He also managed the French branch of the World Monuments Fund for several years.

Achievements

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  Known as the perfect gentleman of couture, Hubert de Givenchy created elegant, pure, sculptural styles that featured feminine qualities. Impeccably turned out, Givenchy was a true master of style. Givenchy designed for many celebrity clients, including Oscar-winning actress Audrey Hepburn, with whom he would become closely affiliated in terms of her cinematic style.
  
  Among the other well-known women of style dressed by Givenchy were the United States first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who wore a Givenchy gown during an official visit to the Palace of Versailles in 1961; Princess Grace of Monaco; Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor; and socialite Babe Paley.
  
  Among many awards, Givenchy received the Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur in 1983 and a lifetime achievement award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 1995. He was chosen for the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1970.

Works

More photos

• design

  • Bettina Blouse

    1952

  • design

    1952

  • design

    1952

  • design

    1954

  • design

  • design

    1961

  • design

    1961

  • design

    1979

Religion

A devout Protestant, Givenchy regarded his talents as a gift from God.

Views

Hubert de Givenchy focused on clothes that accentuated a woman’s beauty, opting for elegance and chic over the style of conformity that ruled the 1950s following World War Two. Givenchy's style was characterized by bright cheerful colors and youthful femininity. Yet his simple tailleurs, cocktail dresses, and evening dresses were also the height of chic, emphasizing line more than decoration.

Quotations: "You must, if it’s possible, be born with a kind of elegance. It’s part of you, of yourself."

Personality

Actress Audrey Hepburn was Givenchy's muse. He dressed her for the films Sabrina (1954), Funny Face (1957), Love in the Afternoon (1957), Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), Paris When It Sizzles (1964), How to Steal a Million (1966), Charade (1963), and Love Among Thieves (1987).

Interests

• art collecting

• Artists

  Audrey Hepburn, Cristóbal Balenciaga, Marino Marini, Manzù, Modigliani, Jean-Baptiste-Claude Odiot, Jacques-Louis David, Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioson

Connections

Givenchy's longtime partner was fashion designer Philippe Venet.

Father:

Lucien Taffin de Givenchy

Mother:

Béatrice Badin

Brother:

Jean-Claude de Givenchy

Jean-Claude de Givenchy began working with his brother, Hubert Taffin de Givenchy, soon after the Givenchy fashion house was opened in 1952.

Partner:

Philippe Venet

Venet was a fashion designer, as was Givenchy. He established the Philippe Venet couture house in Paris in 1962.

muse:

Audrey Hepburn

Givenchy came to the attention of young Hepburn, a rising star who was so charmed by his youthful designs that she insisted that he make her clothes for nearly all of her movies, and help mold her sylphlike image in the process.

In 1961, Hepburn and Givenchy created one of the most indelible cinematic fashion moments of the 20th century in Breakfast at Tiffany’s: when her character, Holly Golightly, approaches the titular Fifth Avenue jeweler wearing oversize sunglasses, four strands of sparkling pearls, long evening gloves, and a black Givenchy dress - a slender, shoulder-baring column - that looks startlingly out of place for the early morning hour.

Friend:

Cristóbal Balenciaga

Balenciaga and Givenchy shared an uncommon bond for more than a decade. Givenchy was the founding chairman of the Cristóbal Balenciaga Foundation, which opened a museum dedicated to Balenciaga in Getaria, Spain, in 2011.

References

• Audrey and Givenchy: A Fashion Love Affair Audrey and Givenchy is a stunning showcase of the most influential teaming of stars and designers in fashion history: Audrey Hepburn and Hubert de Givenchy. Legendary screen star Aubrey Hepburn and designer Hubert de Givenchy were a brilliant meeting of fashion-forward minds.
  2016
• Vogue on Hubert de Givenchy The fashion aesthetic of handsome, aristocratic Hubert de Givenchy combined the traditions of haute couture - creative, luxurious, and perfectionist - with a modern entrepreneurial sensibility. In a career spanning 40 years, he created the most glamorous of evening dresses, developed the influential "sack" dress, and produced debonair daytime suits that have never gone out of fashion.
  2013
• Cristobal Balenciaga, Philippe Venet, Hubert de Givenchy: Grand Traditions in French Couture An artist's book dedicated to the finest creations of three masters of haute couture. This exquisite volume was initiated by Hubert de Givenchy and produced in close collaboration with the great designer.
  2010