"His are the only clothes in which I am myself. He is far more than a couturier, he is a creator of personality," Hubert de Givenchy's muse Audrey Hepburn said of the designer.
Loved by some of the most iconic stars of the 20th Century - from Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor, Jackie Kennedy and Wallis Simpson, to his most famous muse Audrey Hepburn - Givenchy's name and legacy have been synonymous with Parisian chic for more than 50 years. Givenchy sold his label in 1988, and retired seven years later, only to watch his former business go from strength to strength under some of the industry's most exciting designers; from John Galliano, to Alexander McQueen, to Riccardo Tisci. Givenchy, now in his Eighties, is almost entirely absent from the fashion spotlight, only emerging to comment on momentous fashion occasions like the royal wedding.
- In 1927, he was born Hubert James Taffin de Givenchy to an aristocratic family in the French city of Beauvais. The family's nobility stemmed from his father's side from the 18th Century, and artistic professions ran through his mother's hereditary line. Having lost his father in 1930, he was raised largely by his mother and maternal grandmother from whom he inherited his passion for fabrics. Inspired, Givenchy left his hometown at the age of 17 for the vibrant opportunities of Paris.
- Upon moving to Paris in 1944, Givenchy enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. He began his career as an apprentice of Jacques Fath in 1945, and continued to learn the art of the couturier over the following years from Robert Piguet, Lucien Lelong and legendary Italian designer Elsa Schiaparelli.
- The designer's statuesque height - he was 6' 6" - made an immediate impression on Paris, where he soon made a name for himself as a talent to watch.
- In 1952, he established his couture house, la Maison Givenchy,
launching his debutSeparates collection of light
floor-length skirts and stunning blouses including the feted
Bettina Blouse, named after model of the day Bettina Graziani. Two
years later in 1954, Givenchy became the first couturier to present
a luxury ready-to-wear line.
- He inherited his design philosophy of simplicity from his
friend, idol and mentor, Cristóbal Balenciaga. "Balenciaga was my
religion," he toldWWD in 2007. "There's Balenciaga, and
the good Lord."
- Givenchy first met his iconic muse, Audrey Hepburn, in 1953, in
a romantic twist of fate that rivals any of her films. He had in
fact been expecting Katharine as the Mademoiselle Hepburn he was to
dress for the forthcoming pictureSabrina. Audrey is said
to have arrived in a tied-up T-shirt, tight trousers, sandals and a
gondolier's hat on the day that sparked the beginning of a 40-year
friendship.
- Givenchy went on to design the actress' personal ensembles, as
well as those made famous by her in timeless films such as
Funny Face,Sabrina, and of course *Breakfast
at Tiffany's*."The little black dress is the hardest thing to
realise," he told theIndependent in an interview in 2010,
"because you must keep it simple." In the words of Hepburn,
Givenchy to her was more than a couturier, and indeed she to him
far more than a muse. Theirs was a relationship not only of
professional advantages, as they propelled one another into the
royalty of their respective worlds, but one of deep and
long-lasting affection, that would continue for more than forty
years.
- 1957 saw the launch of one of Givenchy's most influential designs, the "sack" silhouette. Revolutionary for its time, the sack dress abandoned form and waistline, and in its place offered mystery surrounding the female body beneath. Givenchy also encouraged women to show more of their legs during the day with raised hemlines, and in this movement he became a predecessor of the one of the most influential decades in fashion, the Sixties.
- 1957 was also the year in which Givenchy launched his first perfume, L'interdit. Promoted by Hepburn, its success soared, hitting headlines as the first time the world had seen an actress as the face of a perfume.
- 1973 marked an additional landmark in the House of Givenchy, with the launch of the first men's collection Gentleman Givenchy.
- Selling his business to Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessey in 1988, and retiring in 1995, Givenchy was succeeded by widely celebrated and innovative designers including Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, Julien Macdonald, and Riccardo Tisci - who now stands at the helm of the Givenchy empire, as the creative director for the Givenchy haute couture and ready-to-wear collections.
- Now in his Eighties, Givenchy - who lives in a country estate Le Jonchet just outside of Paris - has all but removed himself from the fashion world, emerging only occasionally for brief interviews or rare public talks, like the one he gave at the Oxford Union in July 2010. He does occasionally comment on key fashion moments, and earlier this year described Kate Middleton's choice of former Givenchy designer Alexander McQueen's label for her wedding dress as "a lovely thought, a nice tribute" following McQueen's untimely death in February 2010.