Pillar of romantic elegance in fashion
Hubert de Givenchy, the French couturier who upheld a standard of quintessentially romantic elegance in fashion for more than four decades, dressing the likes of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Grace Kelly and memorably Audrey Hepburn, in a little black dress, in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s, died Saturday at his home outside Paris. He was 91.
Philippe Venet, his longtime companion and a former couture designer, confirmed the death.
Givenchy was emblematic of a generation of gentlemanly designers who established their couture houses in postwar Paris, nurturing personal relationships with customers and creating entire collections with specific women in mind.
His very first show — a smash hit with retailers and the press when it was seen in February 1952, when he was just 24 — included the “Bettina blouse”, a tribute to his original muse, Bettina Graziani, Paris’ leading model of the day, who had joined his fledgling company as director of public relations, saleswoman and fit model.
Shortly thereafter, Givenchy came to the attention of the 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.
Although claim to the invention of the little black dress is more often attributed to Coco Chanel, the style instantly became associated with Givenchy.
“The little black dress is the hardest thing to realize,” he said, “because you must keep it simple.”
Since his retirement from fashion in 1995, Givenchy remained active in the arts as an antiques expert for Christie’s, the Château de Versailles and the Louvre. He also managed the French branch of the World Monuments Fund for several years.