Givenchy

          Nascido em Beauvais, cerca de 80 quilômetros ao norte da capital francesa, Hubert de Givenchy se mudou para Paris aos 17 anos pra estudar na École des Beaux-Arts. A primeira casa de alta-costura na qual trabalhou foi a de Jacques Fath, e em Lucien Lelong esteve lado a lado com outros dois grandes nomes que também viriam a abrir casas próprias posteriormente: Christian Dior e Pierre Balmain. Mas o trabalho em que mais se desenvolveu nesses primeiros anos foi na Schiaparelli, de 1947 a 1951.
          Um dos mais jovens estilistas de Paris, Hubert abriu a maison Givenchy com 25 anos, em 1952. E o primeiro grande hit foi a blusa Bettina, cheia de babados na manga, em homenagem à top da época, Bettina Graziani. Dois anos depois, em 1954, ele lançava uma linha de prêt-à-porter de luxo.
          O melhor amigo de Hubert era Cristóbal Balenciaga. Quando Cristóbal se aposentou de maneira um tanto abrupta, Hubert herdou várias de suas clientes – Mona von Birsmarck, por exemplo. Era ele quem cuidava da Balenciaga Foundation e do acervo. “Balenciaga era minha religião”, disse uma vez.
          O estilista se aposentou das passarelas em 1995. Um pouco antes, em 1988, o grupo LVMH adquiriu a divisão de moda. A divisão de perfumes ficou por um tempo com a Veuve Clicquot, mas hoje tudo (inclusive a champanhe em si) faz parte do LVMH. Em vida, Hubert viu sua marca passar pela mão de cinco criadores: John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Julien Macdonald, Riccardo Tisci e Clare Waight Keller.
          Num sábado, 10 de março de 2018, o mundo fashion perdeu um de seus símbolos. Hubert de Givenchy, o fundador da maison que leva seu nome e que hoje conta com o estilo assinado por Clare Waight Keller, morreu aos 91 anos.
          Seu nome ficou reconhecido internacionalmente via um ícone fashion: Audrey Hepburn, que ele conheceu antes das filmagens de "Sabrina". Na trama, a personagem de Audrey (que dá nome ao longa) volta de Paris bem sofisticada, e precisa de um figurino à altura para simbolizar isso. A atriz deu um balé na superfigurinista Edith Head e foi dar uma olhada nos novos nomes de Paris.
          Monsieur Givenchy, por sua vez, quando ouviu que a mademoiselle Hepburn ia visitá-lo, achou que ia encontrar… Katharine Hepburn, que já era uma superestrela de Hollywood na época. Deparou-se com Audrey, e nascia uma parceria que a transformaria num mito da elegância: Hubert não só a vestiu em diversos filmes como também fora das telonas. “As roupas dele são as únicas nas quais sou eu mesma. Ele é muito mais que um costureiro, ele é um criador de personalidade”, a atriz viria a declarar. Ah, o figurino de “Sabrina” ganhou o Oscar, mas quem subiu pra pegá-lo e agradecer… foi Head. E ela nem citou Hubert!
          No casamento da atriz americana Meghan Markle com o príncipe Harry, em 19 de maio de 2018, no castelo de Windsor, na Inglaterra, a marca Givenchy emplacou o vestido da noiva desenhado pela estilista Clare Waight Keller, diretora de arte da marca francesa.
(Fonte: Lillian Pacce - msn - 12.03.2018 / Veja.com - 19.05.2018).

English version:
          In 1952, Hubert de Givenchy (1927-2018) founded his own luxury house and launched a new collection Les Séparables with some floaty skirts and puffy blouses made from raw cotton.
          Givenchy achieved critical acclaim with Vogue magazine praising his "wonderful first collection". The collection included the Bettina Blouse a white shirt named in honour of Bettina Graziani, which was then painted in one of René Gruau's works.
          The New York Times magazine published an article entitled "A Star Is Born" and l’Album du Figaro also wrote a feature stating that "In one night, Hubert de Givenchy became one of fashion’s most famous children with his first collection."
          Famous models such as Suzy Parker, Ivy Nicholson, and Dorian Leigh became muses of the house. In terms of innovation, he used ‘shirting’, a raw cotton similar to pattern paper, to create his chic and casual collections.
          In 1954, Hubert de Givenchy presented the first shirt dress (which later evolved in to a sack dress in 1957). He was the first high fashion designer to create a luxury ready-to-wear clothing line, called "Givenchy Université", which was produced in Paris using machinery imported from the United States. Before he was able to sign for this new collection, Hubert de Givenchy bought all the shares of his fashion house back from Louis Fontaine.
          In 1956, both Cristóbal Balenciaga and Hubert Givenchy presented their collection in New York during a charity gala in aid of the American hospital in Paris.
          In 1957, the House of Balenciaga introduced the sack dress for the first time. In 1958, Cristóbal Balenciaga launched the ‘Baby Doll’ line, along with the coats line ‘Ballon’.
          In 1959, the Givenchy studio moved to number 3, Avenue George V in Paris, opposite Balenciaga’s.. The same year, Givenchy and Balenciaga announced that their respective collections would be shown to the press one month after their presentation to the buyers, in order to avoid any dictate.
          In 1969, Hubert de Givenchy launched his fashion line for men « Gentleman Givenchy ». The boutique was opened in November on Avenue George V. Hubert de Givenchy later introduced short dress.
          On the advice of Cristóbal Balenciaga, Givenchy developed his licences in the seventies, in order to protect the heart of the fashion house: the Haute Couture collections. In 1971, he designed a collection of embroidered coats in honour of Georges Braque and Joan Miró.
          During this period, the House of Givenchy diversified its activities to create shoes, jewellery, ties, tableware, upholstery and kimonos. Hubert de Givenchy was chosen to design the interior of Hilton hotels around the world, and even a car (the Lincoln Continental Mark V).
          In 1976, Givenchy Inc. (offices and showrooms) arrived on New York’s Fifth Avenue. Later, Hubert de Givenchy was elected the personality of the year 1979 and the most elegant man of the year by The Best Magazine.
          In 1982, a retrospective presided by Audrey Hepburn was organized by the Fashion Institute of Technology of New York.
          Next year Hubert de Givenchy is named « chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur » and in 1985, Jacques Lang, the French minister of the Culture, gave him the Oscar dedicated to the art of elegance during a celebration at the Opera in Paris.
          In 1988, Givenchy joined LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
          Few years later, in 1991, a retrospective celebrated at the Galliera Palace the forty years of the fashion house. Hubert de Givenchy left the company in 1995. He was succeeded by some British young creators such as: John Galliano, Alexander McQueen and Julien MacDonald. From December 2003 to 2006, the British cutter Ozwald Boateng is named as the artistic director of the Givenchy men's division.

         John Galliano succeeded Givenchy upon his retirement but was in turn promoted to Christian Dioer less than two years later, prompting the hiring of Alexander McQheen. In 2001, designer Julien MacDonald was appointed Artistic Director for the women's lines, which consist of haute couture and ready-to-wear.

          The reins for both collections were passed on to Riccardo Tisci in 2005 when he was named artistic director of womenswear. Riccardo Tisci has proposed to the House his own style and influences. By changing the house codes, Riccardo Tisci adds some dark and sensual romanticism touch. Extending the chromatic palette of the house, flashy colors, such as the baby blue and the red blood, metal, wildlife and floral prints, he designs an uncluttered, structured and graphic silhouette.

          Philippe Fortunato, the former chief operating of LVMH Moet Hennessy Vuitton SA – China, is the current Chief Operating at Givenchy.

          Givenchy designs have been worn by a number of celebrities on red carpet occasions, including Rooney Mara at the 2012 Academy awards. Also responsible for working with Madonna designing her costumes for her Sticky & Sweet tour as well as the 2012 Super Bowl Halftime Show.

          In 2016, Tisci launched a sportswear collaboration with Nike called NikeLab x RT: Training Redefined aimed at Olympic athletes for the 2016 Summer Olympics as everyday gym users.

          In February 2017, Riccardo Tisci announced his amicable departure from Givenchy.

The House of Givenchy announced the appointment of Clare Waight Keller as Artistic Director, effective May 2, 2017. Clare Waight Keller took on all creative responsibilities, including Women’s and Men’s Ready-to-wear and accessories collections, as well as Haute Couture

          The most famous ambassador of the brand was Audrey Hepburn in films such as Sabrina (for which Edith Head claimed the Academy Award), How to Steal a Million, and Breakfast at Tiffany's. Beginning as a client, she became the muse of the house for forty years, in some most classical films. In 1961, Audrey Hepburn installed the reputation of the house by wearing the famous "little black dress" in Breakfast at Tiffany's.

          Hubert Givenchy died on 9th of March, 2018 near Paris, France.

(Fonte: Wikipédia)