“Forgotten Hollywood”- Phantom Couturier…

Posted on March 12, 2018 by raideoman1 | No Comments

Manny P. here…

“`Along with Christian Dior,  Yves Saint Laurent, and his mentor Cristobal Balenciaga, Hubert de Givenchy was part of the elite cadre of Paris-based designers who redefined fashion in the wake of World War II. He was a pioneer of ready-to-wear, who designed for Audrey Hepburn.

“`Couturier Jacques Fath hired Givenchy on the strength of his sketches.  He spent two years developing the basics of fashion design, including sketching, cutting, and fitting haute couture styles. After apprenticing with other top names, Givenchy founded his own house in 1952. His debut collection ushered in the concept of separates — tops and bottoms that could be mixed and matched, as opposed to head-to-toe looks; normal among Paris couture purveyors.

“`A towering man of elegance and impeccable manners, he forged close relationships with his famous clients, from Hollywood screen sirens of the likes of Ingrid Bergman, Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, Elizabeth Taylor, and Lauren Bacall; to women of state, including Jackie Kennedy and Princess Grace of Monaco. Planning to reach a bigger market, Givenchy launched a line of upscale ready-to-wear clothes and accessories.  Success allowed him to become one of only a handful of Paris couturiers to own their own label outright in the 1960s.

HUBERT DE GIVENCHY   AUDREY HEPBURN

“`The client whose name would become synonymous with the designer was Audrey Hepburn, whom he met in 1953, when he dressed her for the romantic comedy, Sabrina. Ironically, he was misinformed, thinking his client might be Katharine Hepburn. Thus began a decades-long friendship. Givenchy stylized the star in a dozen motion pictures, culminating ln the 1961 hit,  Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The sleeveless black evening gown she wore in the movie, complete with rows of pearls,  elbow-length gloves, and over-sized shades, would end up becoming his most famous look. Audrey would also wear Givenchy as well on the red carpet during awards’ seasons.

“`Symbolizing Parisian chic, Hubert de Givenchy was 91.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

This entry was posted on Monday, March 12th, 2018 at 6:47 pm and is filed under Blog by Manny Pacheco. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.


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