Givenchy
In late 2024, Sarah Burton was named the new creative director at Givenchy, her modern take on femininity being a natural continuation of the label founded by Hubert de Givenchy in 1952.
Though the maison came to be synonymous with very proper ladylike clothes, his 1952 debut collection shook the Parisian fashion scene with its collection of separates that a woman could mix and match in whatever way suited her best. “By giving her the opportunity to make changes in her costume, the designer feels that he is offering his client the pleasure of feeling herself a bit of a creator of her own style,” wrote The New York Times at the time. His irreverent rejection of what was the norm at the time—wearing a full look—was no doubt influenced by his tender age; he was only 25 years old.
It was his youth that no doubt appealed to a then-unknown Audrey Hepburn; he was two years older than the actress when he approached him to help create the wardrobe for her titular role in Sabrina. Roman Holiday, the film that would go on to make her a star had not yet been released and initially de Givenchy was not interested, but Hepburn persisted and the duo went on to collaborate on seven of her films, including 1961’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s, in which Hepburn as Holly Golightly made Givenchy’s little black dress iconic. Their relationship went beyond the professional, as he also dressed her when she won her Academy Award for Best Actress and for her second wedding. “Givenchy’s clothes are the only ones I feel myself in. He is more than a designer, he is a creator of personality,” Hepburn once said.
De Givenchy met and befriended the great Spanish couturier Cristobal Balenciaga, who became a mentor-like figure, and the pair eventually had ateliers across the street from each other on the famed Avenue George V in Paris. Together, they reigned as the most important Parisian designers, introducing the chemise, or sack dress, to the womenswear vernacular.
In 1988, de Givenchy sold his label to LVMH with the caveat that he would remain as designer for the next six years, and so in 1995 the 6-foot-6 designer took his final bow wearing his signature white smock accompanied by his atelier. An hour after the emotional farewell, John Galliano was named as his successor for what would turn out to be a short stint, when he decamped to Dior two years and two couture collections later, to be replaced by that other enfant terrible Alexander McQueen in 1997. It would be a turbulent few years: McQueen left in 2001, succeeded by the Welsh designer Julien Macdonald, who also quickly departed in 2005. The maison finally found its groove when it named Riccardo Tisci as its creative director, a relatively unknown designer who had recently graduated from Central Saint Martins, who had two collections for his namesake label under his belt. His 12-year tenure at the label would prove to be hugely influential, with the designer establishing a vision of rebellious femininity that was equal parts gothic and romantic.
He was succeeded in 2017 by Clare Waight Keller, who quickly established herself as a master of the red carpet dress—so quick in fact, that just a year later her name was on everyone’s lips when she designed the double-bonded silk dress—with a boatneck that was a nod to de Givenchy’s own design for Hepburn as Sabrina—worn by Meghan Markle to marry Prince Harry. But the success of the Royal wedding did not translate into stability for the house, and she stepped down in 2020. A year later, the American designer Matthew M. Williams, who had made a name for himself with his 1017 ALYX 9SM contemporary sportswear label, succeeded her, eventually leaving his post in 2024.
