Hubert de Givenchy was born into a wealthy family in Beauvais, France, in 1927.

He studied in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and his first job in fashion was for Jacques Fath in Paris in 1945.

Following this he worked briefly for Robert Piguet and Lucien Lelong where he worked alongside Pierre Balmain and Christian Dior.

Between 1947 and 1951 he worked for Elsa Schiaparelli.

By 1952 he was ready and he opened the House of Givenchy.

His first fashion collection was named after Bettina Graziani who at the time was Paris's top model.

The Givenchy style of the 50s and 60s is best encapsulated in two women - Audrey Hepburn and Jackie Kennedy.

Givenchy first dressed movie stars in 1953; at JFKs funeral the entire Kennedy family wore Givenchy clothes. His style is best described as elegant and refined.

In 1988, Givenchy sold his business to Moet Hennessy-Louis Vuitton (LVMH) and for financial reasons he remained head of design.

He remained working in a white "lab coat" until 1995 when he retired.

John Galliano, a graduate from St. Martin's School of Art in London took Givenchys place as head of design.

His first collection for Givenchy combined extravagance with the elegant restraint of Givenchy and injected a new competition and creativity into the French haute couture.


In 1996 as Galliano was switching to Dior, a fellow Englishman and another alumni of St. Martins, Alexander McQueen became head of design in 1996 where he remained until 2001.

At this point, Julien Macdonald became the new Artistic Director of Women for Givenchy.

http://www.givenchy.com