Givenchy died day before yesterday on March 10, 2018. He was a French fashion designer who founded The House of Givenchy in 1952. He was famous for having designed much of the personal and professional wardrobe of Audrey Hepburn and clothing for Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. He was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1970.
He was born Count Hubert James Marcel Taffin de Givenchy (pronounced [ybɛʁ də ʒivɑ̃ʃi]; on February 21, 1927.
Givenchy
photo by Robert Doisneau
Givenchy
photo by Robert Doisneau
HIs first designs were done for Jacques Fath in 1945. Later he created designs for Robert Piguet and Lucien Lelong (1946) – working alongside the still-unknown Pierre Balmain and Christian Dior. From 1947 to 1951 he worked for the avantgarde designer Elsa Schiaparelli.
After he met Audrey Hepburn to design ensembles for the 1953 film, Sabrina, they would develop a design relationship and friendship that he said became "a kind of marriage". She is quoted as saying of Givenchy that "he is far more than a couturier, he is a creator of personality". She said it was his designs that gave her the
confidence to play her parts, or to step onstage before thousands of
people to promote a charity. But “when I first went to Hubert” in 1953,
she told Vogue, “I was still in homemade dresses.”
He dressed her personally and in pictures for decades, and in her most well-known films including Funny Face (1957) and Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961). His little black dress look for Hepburn in the film would become arguably his most iconic. He said in 2010: "The little black dress is the hardest thing to realise, because you must keep it simple."
Audrey Hepburn ~ Breakfast at Tiffany's - 1961
Former US First Lady Jackie Kennedy was among other celebrity fans of the designer, here wearing a veil and neat black Givenchy suit on the day of the funeral of her husband, John F. Kennedy, in 1963.
His final collection for the Fall/Winter season 1995-1996 ended his celebrated 43-year career. Before the show, he reportedly told his friends: “I’ve stopped making frocks, but not making discoveries. Life is like a book; one has to know when to turn the page.”
The 1950s and 60s were Givenchy’s golden years, but the designer continued to innovate in later life. At 6ft 6in (1.98m) tall, he was described as a giant of fashion in every sense.
Givenchy sold the business to Moet Hennessy-Louis Vuitton in 1988, but continued designing at the helm until his retirement in 1995. Other designers took the business reins after he moved on, including Alexander McQueen, Riccardo Tisci and John Galliano.
In January 2007, The French Post Office issued postage stamps for Valentine's Day that were designed by Givenchy.
In October 2014, a retrospective exhibition featuring ninety-five of his designed pieces took place at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid, Spain. His longtime partner was fashion designer Philippe Venet.
Count Hubert James Marcel Taffin de Givenchy died in his sleep at the Renaissance chateau near Paris on Saturday 10 March 2018.
Givenchy sold the business to Moet Hennessy-Louis Vuitton in 1988, but continued designing at the helm until his retirement in 1995. Other designers took the business reins after he moved on, including Alexander McQueen, Riccardo Tisci and John Galliano.
In January 2007, The French Post Office issued postage stamps for Valentine's Day that were designed by Givenchy.
Givenchy postal stamp - 2007
In October 2014, a retrospective exhibition featuring ninety-five of his designed pieces took place at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid, Spain. His longtime partner was fashion designer Philippe Venet.
Count Hubert James Marcel Taffin de Givenchy died in his sleep at the Renaissance chateau near Paris on Saturday 10 March 2018.
"Life is like a book; one has to know when to turn the page.”
~ Givenchy
Styrous® ~ Monday, March 12, 2018
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