Media captionWatch: Some of Givenchy's most iconic designs through the decades
French fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy, who created famous looks for Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly and Jackie Kennedy, has died at the age of 91.
His partner Philippe Venet, a former couture designer, confirmed the news.
The enduring appeal of Givenchy was showcased at this year's Oscars, where Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman wore a custom design.
But the designer is best known for the "little black dress" worn by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's.
"It was... an enormous help to know that I looked the part... Then the rest wasn't so tough anymore. Givenchy's lovely simple clothes [gave me] the feeling of being whoever I played," Hepburn said of their partnership.
Image copyrightSHUTTERSTOCKImage captionAudrey Hepburn's black sheath dress became a byword for elegant simplicity
The friendship between Givenchy and Hepburn endured for 40 years, and helped cement his place in fashion - and cinema - history.
She became his muse, and he designed her suits and woollen dresses for the musical Funny Face in 1957, and the light-hearted heist caper How to Steal a Million in 1966.
Givenchy came from an aristocratic background, and worked alongside the then unknown Pierre Balmain and Christian Dior after World War Two.
He was employed by the avant-garde designer Elsa Schiaparelli before leaving to found his own fashion house in 1952. There he introduced the concept of "separates" - blouse, skirt, jacket and trouser combinations that could be mixed and matched.
The man from an age of elegance
By Hugh Schofield, BBC News, Paris
Hubert de Givenchy was the most aristocratic of French designers, renowned for his own personal elegance and impeccable manners. He was born into a noble French family, and destined initially for the law. But at the end of World War Two, he persuaded his family to let him pursue his passion for clothes.
Fame came in the 1950s, and for three decades, he dressed some of the most beautiful women in the world.
He's credited with introducing the notion of separates to give women greater freedom to choose, and with being one of the first clothes designers to create his own perfume.
In 1988, he sold his fashion house to the luxury brand LVMH, and a few years later he retired to a life of comfortable discretion. He came from a world of fashion which he acknowledged has now all but disappeared - an age of elegance, where clothes were created out of a unique personal relationship between client and couturier.
The designer, who stood at a towering 1.98m (6ft 6in), won instant acclaim for his first collection at the age of 24.
"These dresses remind you of that first, best, glass of champagne," one admiring British fashion writer declared.
Image copyrightAFP/GETTY IMAGESImage captionGivenchy's friendship with Hepburn, who died in 1993, lasted for 40 years
Givenchy swiftly ventured into menswear, and moved to New York to consolidate his success.
There, his celebrity customers included US First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, who wore one of his designs to President John F Kennedy's funeral in 1963.
Screen legend Grace Kelly, who would become princess of Monaco, was another famous client.
Image copyrightAFP/GETTY IMAGESImage captionThis Givenchy coat was made for Jacqueline Kennedy in 1959
In 1970, Givenchy branched out into furnishing fabrics, and designed interiors for hotels and even a Ford Continental car.
A series of world-famous designers have held the creative reins at the fashion house since its founder retired in 1995.
They included talented mavericks John Galliano and Alexander McQueen, and - from 2005 - Italian designer Riccardo Tisci, who introduced a more subversive aesthetic.
Givenchy remains a popular choice for actors seeking awards season glamour - including Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot, who chose a gown from the label's Haute Couture collection for the 2018 Oscars.
Image copyrightREUTERSImage captionWonder Woman actress Gal Gadot in Givenchy couture at the OscarsImage copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionBlack Panther star Chadwick Boseman in custom Givenchy, also at the Oscars
"Hubert de Givenchy was a symbol of Parisian elegance for more than half a century," his label said on Monday.
French business magnate Bernard Arnault, head of the luxury goods company LVMH which now owns Givenchy, called the designer "one of the creators who put Paris at the summit of world fashion in the 1950s".
The designer had asked that his friends and admirers make a donation to the children's charity Unicef in his memory, instead of sending flowers.
The House of Givenchy is sad to report the passing of its founder Hubert de Givenchy, a major personality of the world of French Haute Couture and a gentleman who symbolized Parisian chic and elegance for more than half a century. He will be greatly missed.
********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************* Count Hubert James Marcel Taffin de Givenchy (pronounced [ybɛʁdəʒivɑ̃ʃi]; 20 February 1927[2] – 10 March 2018[3]) was a French fashion designer who founded The House of Givenchy in 1952. He was famous for having designed much of the personal and professional wardrobe of Audrey Hepburn and clothing for Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. He was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1970.[4]
Hubert James Taffin de Givenchy was born on 20 February 1927 in Beauvais, Oise[5][6][7] into a Protestant family.[2] He was the younger son of Lucien Taffin de Givenchy (1888–1930), marquis of Givenchy, and his wife, the former Béatrice ("Sissi") Badin (1888–1976). The Taffin de Givenchy family, which traces its roots to Venice, Italy (the original surname was Taffini), was ennobled in 1713, at which time the head of the family became marquis of Givenchy.[8] He had an elder brother, Jean-Claude de Givenchy (1925–2009), who inherited the family's marquessate and eventually became the president of Parfums Givenchy.[citation needed]
After his father's death from influenza in 1930, he was raised by their mother and maternal grandmother,[7] Marguerite Dieterle Badin (1853–1940), the widow of Jules Badin (1843–1919), an artist who was the owner and director of the historic Gobelins Manufactory and Beauvais tapestry factories. Artistic professions ran in the extended Badin family. Givenchy's maternal great-grandfather, Jules Dieterle, was a set designer who also created designs for the Beauvais factory, including a set of 13 designs for the Elysée Palace. One of his great-great-grandfathers also designed sets for the Paris Opera.[citation needed]
Silk blouse and skirt ensemble designed by Givenchy for Givenchy Haute Couture, circa 1985.
In 1952, he opened his own design house at the Plaine Monceau in Paris.[6][7] Later, he named his first collection "Bettina Graziani" for Paris's top model at the time.[6] His style was marked by innovation, contrary to the more conservative designs by Dior. At 25, he was the youngest designer of the progressive Paris fashion scene. His first collections were characterized by the use of rather cheap fabrics for financial reasons, but they always piqued curiosity through their design.[citation needed]
He also developed his first perfume collection for her (L'Interdit and Le de Givenchy).[6][7] Audrey Hepburn was the face of that fragrance. This was the first time a star was the face of a fragrance's advertising campaign, and probably the last time that it was done for free, only by friendship.[12]
At that time, Givenchy also met his idol, Cristóbal Balenciaga.[7][13] Although a renowned designer, Givenchy not only sought inspiration from the lofty settings of haute couture but also in such avant-garde environments as Limbo, the store in Manhattan's East Village.[14]
Givenchy created the iconic 'Balloon coat' and the 'Baby Doll' dress in 1958.[15][16]
In 1969,[17] a men's line was also created.[7] From 1976 through 1983, the Ford Motor Company offered a Givenchy Edition of its Continental Mark series of luxury automobiles beginning in 1976 with the Continental Mark IV coupe and ending with the 1983 Continental Mark VI coupe and sedan. In 1988, he organized a retrospective of his work at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.[9]
The House of Givenchy was split in 1981, with the perfume line going to Veuve Clicquot, while the fashion branch was acquired by LVMH in 1989.[18] As of today, LVMHowns Parfums Givenchy as well.[6]
Givenchy retired from fashion design in 1995.[10] His successor to head the Givenchy label was John Galliano.[6][7] After a brief stint by Galliano, a five-year stay from Alexander McQueen and a term from 2001 to 2004 by Julien Macdonald, Givenchy women's ready-to-wear and haute couture was then headed by Riccardo Tisci from 2005 until 2017.[6][7]
In January 2007, The French Post Office issued postage stamps for Valentine's Day designed by Givenchy. In October 2014, a retrospective exhibition featuring ninety-five of his designed pieces took place at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid, Spain.[10][20] His longtime partner was fashion designer Philippe Venet.[21]
He died in his sleep at the Renaissance chateau near Paris on Saturday 10 March 2018.[3][22][23][24]
French fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy, whose creations were donned by movie stars and first ladies, has died at the age of 91, the brand announced Monday.
Born in 1927, Givenchy was part of an elite cadre of Paris-based designers, including Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent, who redefined the world of fashion after World War II.
Hubert de Givenchy adjusts a scarf on actress Audrey Hepburn during a fitting in Rome in 1958. AP file
He founded his own house in 1952 in France, and his designs went on to be worn by movie stars Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn.
In 1963, first lady Jackie Kennedy wore one of Givenchy's designs to the funeral of her assassinated husband President John F. Kennedy. Givenchy was also behind the now-iconic black dress that Hepburn wore in "Breakfast at Tiffany's."
Givenchy served apprenticeships with other designers — Jacques Fath, Robert Piguet and the exuberant, iconoclastic Elsa Schiaparelli — before venturing out on his own.
Of that first collection, a British fashion writer wrote: “"These dresses remind you of that first, best, glass of champagne."
His hallmark creations, including balloon-sleeved blouses and calf-length trousers with flared hems, were hailed in their time as airy alternatives to the tight waists and artificial curves of the then-dominant "New Look" of Christian Dior.
Tributes to Givenchy emphasized his impeccable taste as well as manners.
"Not only was he one of the most influential fashion figures of our time, whose legacy still influences modern-day dressing, but he also was one of the chicest most charming men I have ever met. The definition of a true gentleman. That will stay with me forever," Clare Waight Keller, the current artistic director of Givenchy's eponymous fashion house, said in a post on Instagram.
The House of Givenchy is sad to report the passing of its founder Hubert de Givenchy, a major personality of the world of French Haute Couture and a gentleman who symbolized Parisian chic and elegance for more than half a century. He will be greatly missed.
Givenchy started out studying law at university but inspired by the atmosphere of liberation that followed World War II, he entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
Fascinated by Spanish-born Cristobal Balenciaga, who was at that time the dean of Paris designers, Givenchy presented himself and his sketchbook at Balenciaga's door, only to be turned away with a curt "Mr. Balenciaga sees no one."
French designer Hubert de Givenchy poses in front of his creations during at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid, Spain. Kiki Huesca / EPA file ***********************************************************
Later on, the two became close friends.
His brand became part of the part of the LVMH group in 1988 and Givenchy retired in 1995.
He was succeeded by a number of famed designers, including John Galliano, Alexander McQueen and Julien MacDonald.
SHUTTERSTOCK
AFP/GETTY IMAGES
AFP/GETTY IMAGES
REUTERS
GETTY IMAGES
No comments:
Post a Comment