French fashion House Givenchy for more then 50 years dictates and sets new trends in high fashion. Today, Givenchy is an international luxury brand, known worldwide for its Haute Couture and ready-to-wear collections for men and women, fashion accessories and famous Givenchy perfume. Givenchy House embodies daintiness of haute couture and pure French elegance. Since 1988, Givenchy belongs to the LVMH group.
American film star Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993) once commented: 'Givenchy is far more than a couturier: he creates personalities'. Fashion Designer Hubert de Givenchy was born to a wealthy family in France, 1927. At age 10, after visiting the World's Fair in Paris, he’s set up his mind: he would be a fashion designer. At 17, after finishing the school of Art in Paris, Givenchy was apprenticed to Parisian designer Jacques Fath and spent eight years working for other designers, including Elsa Schiaparelli and Christian Dior. In 1952, with opening his own couture house in Paris, Givenchy earned instant acclaim for his simple, reasonably priced mix-and-match blouses, skirts, and slacks. He was noted for his embroidered and printed fabrics and his imaginative use of accessories. With his collections, the world of haute couture got a breath of fresh air, as he managed to adapt traditional garments to the new requirements of the elegant traveling woman.
The year of 1953 became a turning point, as the young designer meets Audrey Hepburn, the incarnation of his ideal of femininity - inspired and assisted by Hepburn, Givenchy achieved a huge popularity by furnishing Hollywood movie stars. Those days, another event brought global attention to Givenchy dresses: when John F.Kennedy was assassinated, the world witnessed a mourning Kennedy family all dressed in Givenchy clothes. A pioneer in many fields, Givenchy was the first designer to present a luxury collection of women's ready-to-wear (1954) and the first couturier to introduce short skirts (1958) so that women could show their knees for the first time since the 1920s. His work, combining elegance and classicism with audacity and modernity, is noted for separate skirts and tops; unusual embroidered and printed fabrics; tubular evening dresses; sumptuous ball gowns; jeweled headbands; shawls; the princess silhouette; sleeveless coats; funnel necklines; and his perfumes.
As time goes by, the Givenchy brand diversified its activities. 1973 is a milestone year, as Givenchy enters the realm of menswear, with the launch of the "Gentleman Givenchy" line. The brand also expands its distribution network internationally to many countries, in particular to the Far East and to the United States.
In 1988, Hubert de Givenchy, faced with a problem of personal funds and sold his company to the LVMH Group (Dior, Christian Lacroix, Celine, Kenzo). In 1995, Bernard Arnault, chairman of LVMH, hired the famously flamboyant fashion designer John Galliano (voted the best British designer of the year) to bring Givenchy into the modern era. The appointment of Galliano, known as “the turbulent dandy” utterly shocked many observers, as well as the sixty-eight-year-old Givenchy, who learned about it when he read a news release issued by his own press office! Galliano’s first collection for Givenchy (1996) combined his extravagant evening dresses with the elegant restraint of Givenchy. In October 1996 Galliano suddenly switch to Dior, taking the vacant position of Gianfranco Ferre. In the future, design will be executed by another Englishman, 27 year old Alexander McQueen, who received the "Designer of the Year" award for 1996 of the British Fashion Award council.
Givenchy Watches
When the famous fashion house of Givenchy decided to enter the fine watch market they aimed to produce a timepiece that embodied a true departure from assembly line watches. The Givenchy Watch is not a necessary piece of equipment, but rather a fashion accessory as important as any other part of a wardrobe. To this effect, the Givenchy Collection is a true marriage of form and function: the best in French design, wed with the best in Swiss craftsmanship. Each Givenchy timepiece is made of the finest materials and features extraordinary attention to detail.Givenchy Perfumes
Givenchy launched its fragrance line in 1972 with Eau Torride - a refreshing, energizing fragrance for women and men. In 1974 Givenchy introduced Gentleman – a perfect scent for confident man, which was re-launched in 2002. In the tradition of true Givenchy style, the new Givenchy Pour Homme Blue Label fragrance is an aromatic homage to the traditional gentleman, reinterpreted for the modern man of action. Blue Label embodies the energy, style and attitude of today's man. From chilling out to thrilling adventure, his nature is cool and sophisticated; his style is relaxed and comfortable.Another eternal Givenchy perfume - Amarige was launched in 1992, as a searing oriental fragrance for women, and the Amarige woman does not get messed with! She's passionate, hot and loves a good fight. Anyone who loves this exotic, fruity fragrance must be a vamp – and if she's not, one drop of Amarige and she certainly will be.
Very Irresistible Givenchy unites the elegant tradition of French style with the energy and pop-culture pizzazz of American film to pay tribute to Givenchy's early days when fashion and cinema were intertwined. Bursting with roses and infused with star anise and verbena leaf, Very Irresistible Givenchy is a fresh departure from the traditional floral fragrance.
All Givenchy perfumes were great success in their times and later on. Like a rare couture gown, these fragrances are original, artful creations.
Posted in: Famous Fashion Designers
