Givenchy ( ) is a French
brand of
clothing, accessories, perfumes and cosmetics with Parfums Givenchy.
The house of Givenchy was founded in 1952 by designer
Hubert de Givenchy and is a member of
Chambre
Syndicale de la Haute Couture et du Pret-a-Porter. It is owned
by luxury goods behemoth
LVMH and in 1993
achieved a total sales worth of $176 million, making it the second
largest apparel division of
LVMH after
Dior.
Under Hubert de Givenchy, 1952-1995
During his reign as the designer of the label bearing his name,
Hubert de Givenchy was known for his modern, ladylike styles, which
earned him many loyal clients. The most famous patron 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. His other famous patrons include the
Guinness,
Grimaldi
and
Kennedy families, who famously
wore Givenchy clothes to the funeral of
John F. Kennedy. Hubert de Givenchy retired
in 1995.
Womenswear, 1995-Present
John Galliano succeeded Givenchy upon
his retirement but was in turn promoted to
Christian Dior less than two years later,
prompting the hiring of
Alexander
McQueen. In 2001, designer
Julien
McDonald was appointed Artistic Director for the women's lines,
which consist of
haute couture and
ready-to-wear.
The reins for both collections were ultimately passed on to
Riccardo Tisci in 2005 when he was
named chief designer of womenswear. Tisci's apparent fascination
with gothic touches (dark, languid dresses on sickly-looking models
for fall couture) and space-age minimalism (one ready-to-wear show
featured white-clad models drifting aimlessly around a
sterile-white sphere) have drawn new attention to the brand.
Reviews and output so far have been mixed and inconsistent, but
many, including influential fashion critics (such as
Cathy Horyn of the
New
York Times and
Suzy Menkes of the
International Herald
Tribune) have homed in on Tisci's conceptual leanings, as well
as his future potential for revitalizing the Givenchy brand and
infusing it with his precision and imagination.
Menswear
Givenchy
menswear was relaunched for Spring 2005 with Savile Row
suitmaker Ozwald
Boateng at the helm. Despite initial fanfare , Boateng
was thought to have missed the high fashion mark being set by his
rivals and completed his tenure at Givenchy with the Spring 2007
collection. From there the men's line seemed to drift , absent for
Fall 2007 and then designed by a nameless Givenchy in-house
committee for Spring and Fall 2008. For Spring 2009, the task
finally fell upon womenswear designer Riccardo Tisci, who brought
the sleek, darker themes prevalent in his women's collections to
the traditionally more conservative menswear division.
External links