Categories: Obituaries

Hubert de Givenchy, Famed Couturier, Dies At 91

But it was Hepburn who was his muse and close friend, wearing his fashions in the films Sabrina, Funny Girl and others.

Hubert de Givenchy and Audrey Hepburn at a dress fitting in 1950s, (Keystone/Photononstop/Screen Prod) ©Diltz. (Right) Givenchy created Hepburn’s entire wardrobe for “Funny Face”, Paris, 1956, (Magnum) ©David Seymour. (Creative Living Geneva)

His eponymous fashion house called its founder the enfant terrible of haute couture: “[H]is ‘separates’ – elegant blouses and light skirts blending architectural lines and simplicity – met with enormous success in light of the more constricted looks of the day. … Spare lines, slender hips, slim silhouettes and swan-like necks won over actresses from around the world.”

Hepburn in Givenchy (1955)

In 1969, the designer launched a menswear line called Givenchy Gentleman. He sold the Givenchy house to luxury conglomerate LVMH in 1988, staying on until he retired in 1995.

“Not only was he one of the most influential fashion figures of our time, whose legacy still influences modern day dressing,” wrote Givenchy artistic director Clare Waight Keller on his passing, “but he also was one of the chicest most charming men I have ever met.”

Hubert de Givenchy poses at the Gemeentemuseum in the Netherlands in 2016 during a retrospective of his work. Bart Maat/AFP/Getty Images – NPR

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