Hubert de Givenchy

Through the years the house of Givenchy has made groundbreaking statements of good taste, simplicity and elegance, but also of innovation, originality and authenticity. Without the genius of Hubert de Givenchy, the history of fashion would have now been different. His fresh vision of fashion and women and its first collection in 1952 has completely changed the dogmas of style.

Hubert James Taffin de Givenchy was born in 1927 into an aristocratic family in the French city of Beauvais. He was raised by his mother and maternal grandmother after the loss of his father in 1930. Thanks to his "feminine" education, he developed a genuine and deep-rooted love for fabrics and clothes. He left his hometown at the age of 17 to venture into the world of art, enrolling at the Ecole des Beaux-Art in Paris. After finishing his courses, he started a fortunate apprenticeship chez Monsieur Jacques Fath. He has been considered one of the most influential fashion designer of the post-war haute couture, using avant-garde materials such as hemp sacking and walnut sequins. Guided by a deep desire of learning and mastering his craft, Givenchy trained under other couturiers during those years, such as Robert Piguet, Lucien Lelong, and Elsa Schiaparelli.

At the age of 25 he stood out and founded Givenchy couture house, presenting in 1952 his first collection Separates and becoming the youngest designer of the Paris fashion scene. One year later he met Audrey Hepburn who became her muse. He designed the costumes for the majority of her movies, becoming irremediable linked with her figure. Their partnership led into a close friendship that lasted almost 40 years.

During the years his work matured, reaching a level of pioneering semplicity and purity which will always be the mark of the brand under his leadership. Unfortunately his work experienced a period of displease among the public and the critics in the Seventies and the Eighties, whom started considering his designs as boring and tedious. Despite the criticism, he never ceased to follow his conviction of what a woman should look like in order to be beautiful and refined.

The company LVMH acquired the brand in 1987 leading it into a subsequent international growth amognst the best luxury brands. Givenchy himself decided to retire a few years later in 1995. After him, John Galliano is appointed house designer by Bernard Arnault, the owner of the company. He leaves after only four collection to become the creative director of Dior. His position is given to the young and rebellious Alexander McQueen, who will lead Givenchy to an era of deconstructionism and controversy.