Hubert De Givenchy

Personal

Passions

Vocation

Lifestyle

Notable

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Family

French fashion designer and entrepreneur, one of the greatest names in haute couture. He was awarded the Oscar for costume design for the movie, "Sabrina" (1954). His father was the Marquis Lucien Taffin de Givenchy, a military pilot who died on 5 January 1930. Hubert and his older brother Jean-Claude (b. 1925) were raised in the town of Beauvais, 40 miles north of Paris. His mother, Beatrice, was the daughter of the director of the famous Beauvais tapestry works. When Hubert was a young boy, he would accompany his mother on her shopping trips to Paris. He avidly read her fashion magazines. An excellent student, Givenchy sketched during his class lessons. His grandfather treated him to the excitement of exploring the trunks of rare, exquisite fabrics. He decided to enter into the vocation of textiles and fashion. In 1944, at the age of 17, he set out to Paris to find his first paying position. He landed the job as sketch artist with the couturier, Jacques Fath. Five years later, he was designing for Elsa Schiaparelli. Under the mentoring eye of Schiaparelli, Givenchy decided to break out on his own and open his own fashion house. His first collection premiered to an enthusiastic audience in February 1952. At the age of 25, Givenchy captured an elegance and beauty in his clothes giving him a phenomenal debut. The affluent French women were dazzled by the simple polish and exquisite taste of his designs. His reputation grew to international circles and soon clients such as Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Princess Grace, the Duchess of Windsor and Jacqueline Kennedy visited the House of Givenchy at Avenue George V. In 1954, a young actress named Audrey Hepburn asked Givenchy to design her wardrobe for the film, "Sabrina." He was delighted to clothe the actress and at 27 he won the Oscar for costume design in Hollywood. They formed an enduring close relationship and he continued to design for her in her film roles, "Funny Face", "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and "Charade" and in her life away from the camera. Givenchy was a master in showcasing the beauty of his individual clients and hiding their figure flaws. His accessories and salons garnered his financial success. A dashing and handsome 6'6" aristocrat with vivid blue eyes and silver hair Givenchy always treated people with courtesy and respect. He was called simply "Monsieur" when he worked and wore a simple white smock in front of his clients. A quiet man, he always enjoyed the sports of tennis and horseback riding. Givenchy did needlework to relax from the tension of the day. He enjoyed shopping for antiques to display in his mansion on the Paris Left Bank or his 17th-century chateau in Romilly-sur-Aigre in the Loire Valley. He lived with his four Labradors and Bichon Frise. On 4 November 1988, the House of Givenchy was sold for 46 million to the luxury goods firm Louis Vuitton Moet-Hennessy. July 1995 was the final couture show of Givenchy as he strode out on the fashion runway to say farewell to his friends. His successor was Britain's John Galliano who designed for actress Nicole Kidman and Elizabeth Hurley. Upon his retirement, Givenchy remained busy designing the vegetable garden of Louis XVI at Versailles, and organizing an exhibition for the late fashion designer Cristobal Balenciaga at the Paris Galliera. Proud of his design legacy Givenchy was happy in the choice he made to retire. He despaired of the "ugly" fashion designs on the runway toward the end of his life and marvelled at the disappearance of discretion and elegance in clothes. He died in his sleep at the Renaissance chateau near Paris on 10 March 2018, aged 91, survived by his longtime partner, fashion designer Philippe Venet. Link to Wikipedia biography