House of Givenchy - Story of a Luxury Fashion Brand

GIVENCHY – Changing the way we’re styled today!

Remember the “little Black Dress“ from The Breakfast at Tiffany’s? Yes, that’s how Givenchy revolutionized the entire styling wardrobe. All the efforts behind this styling mantra go to Hubert de Givenchy, a dressmaker corresponding Picasso.

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House Givenchy blew into the Paris fashion scene in the early '50s, making an instant mark on women's clothing with a stunning, avant-garde approach. The enigmatic French fashion designer Count Hubert James Marcel Taffin de Givenchy (popularly known as Hubert Givenchy) actually founded the French luxury fashion house of Givenchy along with Javani Robert Durfy in the year 1952. Although bold fashionistas ado rated Givenchy's unique designs and exotic materials, his sense of style proved more difficult for others.

Givenchy’s choices and picks in the materials and fabrics inspired him personally as well as they inspired everyone around him. The garments designed by him were less about celebrating the bodies of women than about defying tradition and producing abstract shapes, making him the "Picasso version of dressmaker." Today

 The Givenchy brand logo

The Givenchy logo in use now has been created by Paul Barnes in the year 2003. The Givenchy logo is simplistic yet attractive. It comprises of Four 'G' alphabets coming together to create a bigger square. The unique Celtic symbol kind of logo is surely an immediate identity establisher for the Givenchy brand name.

Dressing up the stars

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Hubert Givenchy made a bigger name for his fashion brand by creating iconic fashion clothes for global and famous personalities including the personal and professional wardrobe of Audrey Hepburn. He also created fashion clothing for Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy and the families of Guinness, Grimaldi, Rothschild and many more.

The list of celebrities that have styled themselves with Givenchy is a long one indeed. It includes names like Empress Farah Pahlavi, Gloria Guinness and Marella Agnelli, Lauren Bacall, Babe Paley, Michael Norman, Greta Garbo, Elizabeth Taylor, Marlène Dietrich, Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis, Beyoncé Knowles, Princess Grace of Monaco, Wallis Simpson and others.

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In the contemporary times, House of Givenchy has styled many of the Hollywood heart throbs including Cate Blanchett, Emma Stone, Lady Gaga, Julianne Moore, Julia Roberts, Rooney Mara, and others.

Givenchy’s controversial style, the chemise

The shift dress, also known as a chemise, was one of the most debated styles he adopted in his shows, tailored to fall straight down from the shoulders.  This chemise style is recognized as a timeless dress design which is now a wardrobe staple for many ladies, but in the 1957 video, fashion writer Bernadine Morris claimed that Givenchy’s focus on the chemise was revolutionary. The unique characteristic of the dress being coined as revolutionary was the fact that this chemise did not have a waistline. This is extreme style of fashion was initially the talk of the town for all the commoners. During this period, few taxi drivers were asked if they would be okay with their wives wearing this chemise to which they strongly opposed. But again, what’s a big fashion if it’s not tangled with controversies. Well, eventually the chemise had become the uniform of the mid-20^th century. 

Givenchy blossomed into a powerhouse of an international luxury fashion and perfume house. Its brand of haute couture clothing, accessories and Parfums Givenchy - offering world class perfumes and cosmetics are a rage. The house of Givenchy is a privileged member of Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture et du Pret-a-Porter. Today it is owned by luxury conglomerate Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE commonly referred to as LVMH or Louis Vuitton. Clare Waight Keller became the first woman artistic director on 2nd May 2017 and she remained in that position till the 10th of April 2020.

The most famous ambassador of the house of Givenchy was Audrey Hepburn who wore its stylized clothes in various Hollywood hits. Audrey Hepburn is also referred to as the Original brand ambassador of Givenchy. Gadot, Meghan Markle, and Julianne Moore have also been part of the Givenchy 'family'.

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Their current brand ambassador is the ultra-suave Ariana Grande and this was declared with a very chic campaign on 9^th May 2017 with a simple caption that read "The New Face of Givenchy, Revealed Tomorrow.”

Wardrobe styling, piece by piece

It’s all thanks to Givenchy that now we have jump- suits and two pieces in our wardrobes that we can actually pair it up with anything at any time and literally create the whole new look and the vibe.

Givenchy actually had a virtually view of the entire mix and match concept. He actually compared styling to decorating.

Source : https://onwardcouture.wordpress.com/2014/12/03/hubert-de-givenchy/

Givenchy launched one of his most famous iconic pieces, the Bettina blouse, which he unveiled in his very first set in 1952. Called Bettina Graziani for his early inspiration, this was a highly famous white poplin shirt with voluminous ruffled sleeves and eyelet adornments.

Over the decades, variants of the Bettina reappeared in Givenchy designs and other designers. In 2001, model photographer for The New York Times4 Bill Cunningham presented many contemporary models, many of Saint Laurent's "diaphanous organdy," including "street models," "luncheon versions" and "two pure beauties."

Cunningham claimed that originally Givenchy shows "separates cut from inexpensive cottons because he was unable to buy quality fabrics. The shop buyers refused his bid as a flash in the wind, while it was in reality a groundbreaking glimpse into what will happen 40 years later.

Givenchy is still one of the most adored luxury fashion brands in the world and it has adapted to the online fashion world with aplomb. The Givenchy e-boutiques Givenchy.com and Givenchybeauty.com are superbly created fashion websites that are extremely user friendly, uber chic and amazingly convenient too.

Source : https://thefashionwithstyle.com/healthy-livings/givenchy-beauty-presents-the-summer-2019-collection/