Hubert de Givenchy

Lore & Background

Hubert de Givenchy was born into a Protestant noble family in Beauvais, the younger son of Lucien Taffin de Givenchy, Marquis of Givenchy, and Béatrice Badin. After his father's death in 1930, he was raised by his mother and maternal grandmother. He moved to Paris at age 17, studied at the École des Beaux-Arts, and stood 6'6" tall. His early career included work for Jacques Fath, Robert Piguet, Lucien Lelong, and Elsa Schiaparelli before opening his own design house in 1952.

Givenchy first met Audrey Hepburn in 1953 during the shoot of Sabrina and went on to design the black dress she wore in Breakfast at Tiffany's. He also developed his first perfume collection for her, L'Interdit and Le de Givenchy, with Hepburn as the face of the fragrance—the first time a star was used in such a campaign. His notable clients included Grace Kelly, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Sophia Loren, and many other prominent figures. He met his idol Cristóbal Balenciaga and sought inspiration from both haute couture and avant-garde settings.

Reader's Guide

Hubert de Givenchy's significance lies in his founding of a major fashion house and his role in defining mid-20th-century elegance, particularly through his long collaboration with Audrey Hepburn. His early collections emphasized versatile separates and innovative designs using affordable fabrics, making him the youngest progressive designer in Paris at age 25. He introduced influential silhouettes such as the shift dress, sack dress, balloon coat, and baby doll dress. During the 1950s and early 1960s, he was considered one of the top couturiers. His later career saw a decline in influence as fashion became more casual, but he regained prominence with the return to formal glamour in the late 1970s and 1980s. The House of Givenchy was split in 1981, with the perfume line going to Veuve Clicquot and the fashion branch acquired by LVMH in 1989. Givenchy retired in 1995 and died in 2018.

Did You Know?

• Givenchy stood 6'6" tall.
• He named his first collection 'Bettina Graziani' after the top model who supported him.
• From 1976 to 1987, Lincoln offered a Givenchy Edition of its Continental Mark series and Lincoln Continental automobiles.
• His longtime partner was fashion designer Philippe Venet.