Fashion Designer Hubert de Givenchy

Hubert de Givenchy was born in Beauvais, France on February 21, 1927. Impressed by the 1937 World's Fair in Paris, young Givenchy decided he wanted to work  in fashion design. He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. His first designs were done for Jacques Fath in 1945, an association that came through family members who knew Fath personally. Later he did designs for Lucien Lelong (1946) and Robert Piguet  — working alongside the still-unknown Pierre Balmain and Christian Dior. From 1947 to 1951 he worked for the avantgarde designer Elsa Schiaparelli.

In 1954, Givenchy's prêt-à-porter collection debuted and later a men's line was also launched.

The House of Givenchy was split in 1981, with the perfume line going to Veuve Clicquot, while the fashion branch went to Luis Vuitton Moët Hennessy portfolio of upscale brands. As of today, they owns Parfums Givenchy as well.

Hubert  de Givenchy was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1970.

        

During his reign as the designer of the label bearing his name, Hubert de Givenchy was known for his modern, ladylike styles, which earned him many loyal clients. The most famous ambassador of the brand was Audrey Hepburn in films such as Sabrina, Funny face and  Breakfast at Tiffany's. His other famous patrons include Empress Farah Pahlavi and Marella Agnelli, as well as the Guinness, Grimaldi and Kennedy families, who famously wore Givenchy clothes to the funeral of John F. Kennedy. Hubert de Givenchy retired in 1995.

Givenchy designed In 1961, a little black dress for Blake Edwards' romantic comedy, Breakfast at Tiffany's, where Hepburn plays a leading role alongside the actor George Peppard. Audrey took two copies of the dress back to Paramount, but the dresses, which revealed a considerable amount of Audrey's leg, were not suitable for the movie and the lower half of the dress was redesigned by Edith Head. The original hand-stitched dress is currently in Givenchy's private archive, whilst one copy Audrey took back to Paramount is on display at The Museum of Film in Madrid and the other was auctioned at Christie's in December 2006. None of the actual dresses created by Givenchy were used in either the movie or the promotional photography.

The dress is cited as one of the most iconic items of clothing in the history of the twentieth century and perhaps the most famous "little black dress" of all time.The dress attained such iconic fame and status that it became an integral part of a woman's wardrobe. Givenchy not only chose the dress for the character in the film, but also added the right accessories to match the long gown in the form of  a foot long cigarette holder, a pearl choker of many strands, a large black hat and opera gloves which not only visually defined the character but indelibly linked Audrey with her.

The dress is a black Italian satin sheath evening gown. It is describe as  sleeveless, floor-length gown with fitted bodice embellished at the back with distinctive cut-out décolleté, the skirt slightly gathered at the waist and slit to the thigh on one side, labelled inside on the waistband Givenchy.  The bodice is slightly open at the back with a neckline that leaves uncovered shoulders.  The look has been described as "ultra-feminine" and "Parisian.

Givenchy gown 1950