GIVENCHY’S L EGACY
In today’s pantheon of fashion stars, few, if any, make reference to the late, great Hubert de Givenchy. But all that is about to change.
When Count Hubert James Marcel Taffin de Givenchy died last week, aged 91, the aristocratic French fashion designer was remembered in an outpouring of iconic images on Instagram. Jackie Kennedy in a pale skirt suit. Wallis Simpson looking imperiously chic in white satin. Grace Kelly, flawless in green. And Audrey Hepburn in everything, since Givenchy was responsible for creating her on- and off-screen wardrobes, most notably that iconic little black dress in
Breakfast At Tiffany’s. As Hepburn once said, ‘Givenchy’s clothes are the only ones in which I feel myself. He is more than a designer, he is a creator of personality.’
Givenchy was one of the fashion greats, up there with Cristóbal Balenciaga, Elsa Schiaparelli, Christian Dior and Gabrielle Chanel. But where Balenciaga was the engineer of shape, Schiaparelli the surrealist, Dior the purveyor of extravagance and Chanel the feminist who liberated women from the corseted silhouette, Givenchy was the architect of elegance. His creations were fiercely
modern for that time, relying on the drama of shape and cut rather than ostentatious decoration. They aimed to enhance the character of the woman who wore them; they never wore her. It’s an ideal that never seemed more appropriate than now.
Givenchy’s story is the stuff of fashion legend. Born in 1927 in Beauvais, north of Paris, he was an early fashion obsessive and, aged 10, armed only with fashion sketches, ran away from home in a failed attempt to show his designs to ‘the master’ Balenciaga. At 17, he persuaded his family to let him study at the prestigious École des BeauxArts. And by 24, Givenchy was open for business. The tipping point came two years later when he met his muse Audrey Hepburn and dressed her for her role in Sabrina.
‘[Audrey] made my house so well-known that many prominent Americans decided to “wear Givenchy”. Audrey wore clothes with such talent and flair that she had a major impact on fashion. Her chic, her youth and her silhouette grew ever more celebrated, enveloping me in a kind of aura that I could never have hoped for,’ he said. When he finally met his idol Balenciaga, the master was so impressed with Givenchy’s passion that he sent two of his own prized studio workers to help him meet the sudden demand for his work thanks to the Audrey effect. ‘[Balenciaga’s] influence on my work was immense but I realised I still had everything to learn,’ said Givenchy, who proclaimed himself the ‘eternal apprentice’. In 1988 he sold his brand to LVMH, the luxury goods group, but remained creative director until he retired seven years later, telling friends, ‘I’ve stopped making frocks, but not making discoveries. Life is like a book: one has to know when to turn the page.’
From then on Givenchy became the house of designer stars. John Galliano’s brief stint there before heading up Dior was superseded by Alexander Mcqueen, who flexed the might of the brand with his avant-garde vision, once putting Naomi Campbell in a golden sheath and matching ram’s horns. Julien Macdonald held the post for a year before Riccardo Tisci, who bestowed the brand with high-octane glamour. Today, Givenchy’s first woman sits at the helm. In less than a year, British designer Clare Waight Keller has come closer than any of her predecessors in delivering a believable elegance that comes straight from the heart of Givenchy’s archives. Last week, she said, ‘I am deeply saddened by the loss of a great man and artist I have had the honour to meet. Not only was he one of the most influential fashion figures of our time, whose legacy influences modern-day dressing, but he was also one of the chicest, most charming men I have ever met. The definition of a true gentleman, that will stay for me forever.’
Next season, we predict it will be Hubert de Givenchy’s name on many designers’ lips. Connoisseur of chic and timeless elegance. Master of beautiful clothes. The man who wanted women to shine.