Hubert de Givenchy, was just 24 when he founded his own maison in 1952 after working on boutique collections for Elsa Schiaparelli. Youth became his initial calling card; his daring-for-the-time proposal was to promote separates, like his frothy white Bettina blouse (named for his model muse Bettina Graziani), which he showed with a pencil skirt. The aristocratic designer’s association with Audrey Hepburn, which has come to define the house, started in 1953, the same year that Givenchy forged the most important professional relationship in his career, with Cristobal Balenciaga. In an effort to thwart copyists, together these purist designers showed after the scheduled Fashion Week—and this was back when editors were still sailing to Paris from New York.
Making all things archival Givenchy imminently more accessible is the latest book in Thames Hudson’s Catwalk Collections. The tome is co-authored by curator Alexandre Samson and journalist and Vogue contributor Anders Christian Madsen, who tackled the collections from 1952 to 2000 and 2001 to now, respectively.
Givenchy is the eighth book in the series, which launched in 2016 with the aim, explained commissioning editor Adélia Sabatini, of building “a real reference library for fashion, and particularly to document shows pre-dating the Google Images era, for which it was quite hard to find clear or reliable images and information online.” She continued: “To have all of a house’s shows in one place, arranged chronologically so the reader could appreciate both how the style of the house evolved, but also how the fashion world (and what a catwalk show was) changed too, seemed the best way to learn a house’s history.”
Context is especially important in the post-modern world, where references, constantly iterated on, have become meta. Madsen argues that journalistic documentation is just as important as the photographic. “I learned so much working on this book,” he told me, “but the biggest lesson came from reading the many reviews that informed the retrospective collection descriptions. Without critics sitting up all night wiring those pieces, we wouldn’t have so many vivid, different memories of those shows today. And in a time when there’s less and less show reportage and it’s all about celebrity attendance, this is a crucial reminder for the industry to support and sustain show reviews. We need more voices documenting fashion for the future. Runway videos don’t paint the full picture.”
Below, find some of Samson and Madsen’s favorite Givenchy collections of all time.
Givenchy, fall 2010 couture
Selected by Alexandre Samson
“Appointed in 2005, Riccardo Tisci played a pivotal role in enhancing Givenchy’s grandeur in the 2010s. In this particular collection, he departed from the traditional runway show, opting for a presentation on static mannequins. In the adjacent room, a wall covered with a colossal photograph by Willy Vanderperre showcased 10 models wearing the collection’s looks, depicted from the front on one side and from the back on the other. The entire collection drew inspiration from Mexican traditions such as the Day of the Dead and the artistry of Frida Kahlo. Characterized by sumptuous craftsmanship, sensuality, and a range of colors from pure white to gold, this collection stands out as one of the most significant in Riccardo Tisci’s tenure at Givenchy.”
Givenchy, fall 2008 ready-to-wear
Selected by Anders Christian Madsen
“Riccardo Tisci’s first collection for Givenchy coincided with my arrival and studies in London, so his whole tenure at the house was fairly formative to me. It’s hard to pick a favorite collection but the one I remember the most is this one: the epitome of his Latin Gothicism with all the gold chains and crucifix lace and priestly ruffled dress constructions a former teen goth could dream of.”
Givenchy, spring 1996 couture
Selected by Anders Christian Madsen
“I’m a ’90s child who grew up on John Galliano. He’s pretty much the reason I believe in fashion. Denmark didn’t have the best selection of international magazines, and my parents didn’t get internet access until ’98, so when I finally saw pictures from this show—and his other shows—years after they had happened, it was a sensory overload of the best things I’d ever seen. Galliano’s work today still makes me feel like that.”
Givenchy, fall 1979 couture
Selected by Alexandre Samson
“In 1979, Hubert de Givenchy achieved international success. After his friend Cristobal Balenciaga’s retirement in 1968, Givenchy decided to tailor each collection only to his clients, maintaining a balance between commercial appeal and creativity. However, this collection, already influenced by the 1980s, took a unique approach. Givenchy dedicated it to Black women, featuring almost exclusively models of African origins. The presence of Black models had been increasing since the late ’60s in haute couture shows, making strong statements in the 1970s. But the Battle of Versailles in 1973, opposing five American designers against five French couturiers, likely influenced Givenchy on this matter. At the age of 52, Hubert de Givenchy made this bold statement with a theatrical collection made of black velvet and trompe l’œil prints representing boa feathers or fur stoles in fluorescent colors.”
Givenchy, fall 1955 couture
Selected by Anders Christian Madsen
“It’s the strangest collection Hubert ever did. I love the experimental spirit of the constructions, the nods to his mentor Balenciaga, and how the off-ness of it all cheekily fades into these grand, quite un-strange gestures of ballroom glamour. He was only 28 when he designed it, and I just love to see that young, courageous, nonconformist energy through the binoculars of today.”
Givenchy, spring 1953 couture
Selected by Alexandre Samson
“Hubert de Givenchy’s third collection is a masterpiece of haute couture craftsmanship. It is very representative of the inventiveness that characterized his entire career. In collaboration with the print textile artist Andrée Brossin de Méré, he transformed his collection into a trompe-l’oeil feast, starting with fruits and a vegetable garden inspiration (pineapples, lemons, beans), then transitioning to seafood (oysters), and for the evening, trompe-l’oeil drapes printed on silk. This idea of trompe-l’œil also inspired the accessories, including iconic hair-printed scarves. The influence of the surrealist Elsa Schiaparelli, with whom he worked before starting his fashion house, is evident.
This collection is also linked to two major encounters that played a significant role in his career. The first was with Cristobal Balenciaga, whom Givenchy met in New York in summer 1953. The Spanish couturier praised one of the dresses in the collection, embroidered with lily of the valley patterns. The second encounter was with Audrey Hepburn, who chose another dress from the collection, making it the most famous costume for her movie Sabrina.”
