Hubert de Givenchy was born on February 20, 1927 in Beauvais, France.
Lucien Taffin de Givenchy died when his son Hubert was two years old. The boy became his father. He did not become a pilot solely out of compassion for his mother, for whom the death of her beloved husband was a tragedy of his life. But Hubert’s dreams of beautiful skyscrapers were reflected in his work. As the Little Prince, the famous hero of Exupery, he worked wonders on his fantasy planet. Having become a famous couturier,
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Hubert de Givenchy was born on February 20, 1927 in Beauvais, France.
Lucien Taffin de Givenchy died when his son Hubert was two years old. The boy became his father. He did not become a pilot solely out of compassion for his mother, for whom the death of her beloved husband was a tragedy of his life. But Hubert’s dreams of beautiful skyscrapers were reflected in his work. As the Little Prince, the famous hero of Exupery, he worked wonders on his fantasy planet. Having become a famous couturier, he created his own world (not his own, but his own in quotation marks) of unearthly beauty, separated by an insurmountable abyss from everything everyday and ordinary.
Hubert studied at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris. He developed a passion for fashion very early on. At the age of 10, he visited the world exhibition in Paris and returned full of amazement from the Pavilion of Elegance, where 30 models of the most famous French fashion houses were presented. Then he decided to become a fashion designer.
After the liberation of France from fascist occupation, he moved to Paris, where he worked as an assistant and studied with such fashion giants as Jacques Fath, Robert Piguet and Lucien Lelong. He worked with Elsa Schiaparelli.
On February 2, 1952, Hubert’s dream came true – he opened his own boutique. He was only 25 years old. Thus, he was the youngest of the creators of high fashion. His first collection was a success. Bettina Graziani, model and press agent, became the face of the company. For her, he made the famous “Bettini blouse” – a modest cotton white blouse with striking black and white shuttles on the sleeves. It attracted as much press attention as Dior with its New Direction. It seemed that Givenchy, with his amusing patterns on the fabric and fresh flowers, would renew couture, but the artist did not consider himself a revolutionary, he aspired only to perfection.
1953 was a turning point in his career. First, he met the Spaniard Cristobal Balenciaga, with whom he later developed a close friendship and working relationship. He chose him as his teacher. Givenchy supported Balenciaga when he decided in 1957 not to allow the press to attend his shows. In order to prevent journalists from influencing buyers’ opinions, they were only allowed to see the new collection for the first time eight weeks later. Naturally, the press declared a boycott. But since Balenciaga was considered a leading couturier after Dior's early death, his opinion could not be ignored. Second, the young fashion designer meets Audrey Hepburn. Hubert Givenchy was a real knight. For 42 years, almost all the time he was the head of the fashion house he founded, he was inspired by a muse who was neither wife nor girlfriend, but precisely the Lady of the Heart in the medieval sense. For many years, Audrey Hepburn was the face. Givenchy's. Couturier always called her the embodiment of his ideas about what should be the woman for whom he creates models. They met when the 26-year-old fashion designer was already hit by an avalanche of fame. An unknown young American actress, “just a thin girl” in a straw hat and cheap linen pants, came to the office of Hubert Givenchy in search of outfits for her heroine in the film “Sabrina”, in which she played the main role. All those dresses that helped Sabrina become the queen of the ball overnight, and Audrey Hepburn to become a Hollywood star, were sewn by Givenchy.
On February 4, 1955, the fashion designer was awarded his first Oscar for costumes for the film Sabrina. And Audrey has since become his close friend and dressed only for him - both in life and in the movies. Films in which she starred in his costumes (for example, Funny Face and Breakfast at Tiffanny’s) have made his representation of refined elegance world famous. For her, the designer created his first perfume. They saw the light of day in 1957, five years after the first display of the couture collection by a young, then little-known fashion designer. The fragrance dedicated to the actress was called L’Interdit and was floral-aldehyde with a powder hue. The success of this fragrance became the basis for the organization of not only the model business, but also the company Parfums Givenchy. The second woman to embody Givenchy was Jacqueline Kennedy. Even for the funeral of her husband, she ordered a special dress from the designer.
In the early 60s, Givenchy left the perfume arena for a decade to release Givenchy III after a long break in 1970. This name is not accidental, because it is the third female fragrance of the Fashion House. The design of the bottle was designed by the famous Pierre Dinand. This is a bright aroma for a woman who is characterized by good taste and impeccable elegance. Givenchy, a pioneer in many fields, was the first designer to introduce a luxurious collection of ready-made women’s clothing. His works combine elegance and classicism with boldness and modernism. In 1973, Givenchy entered the world of men’s clothing. And in 1974, the third men's fragrance Givenchy Gentleman appeared - in honor of the men's clothing collection of the same name. It was created by perfumer Paul Leger. These are purebred spirits for a noble man endowed with the chic and charm of a real dandy.
In 1988, Givenchy became part of the French group LVMH - Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy, along with such famous brands as Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Christian Lacroix and Celine.
Givenchy sold his House in 1988, but remained its art director until 1996.
In July 1995, on the Avenue of George V in Paris, the last haute couture show of the founder of the famous brand took place in the Givenchy House. “I dedicate this collection to those who share my love for beauty. But the main thing for me is to stop in time, said the Maestro.