The fashion world is mourning the loss of an icon today: WWD reports that Count Hubert James Marcel Taffin de Givenchy, founder of French label Givenchy, has passed away at age 91.
Givenchy leaves behind a legacy that started with the opening of his eponymous design house in 1952. Until his retirement from the brand in 1997, he established a reputation for clean designs that embodied classic Parisian elegance. His work gained celebrity fans from Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis to Princess Grace of Monaco; he also had a storied friendship with the late Audrey Hepburn, making custom designs for the actress that included her famous black sheath dress from Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
In a statement, the house of Givenchy mourned the loss of its founder, saying he was “a major personality of the world of French haute couture and a gentleman who symbolized Parisian chic and elegance for more than half a century. His work remains as relevant today as it was then. He will be greatly missed.”
Givenchy has had its fair share of aesthetic shifts under the artistic directors that followed Hubert de Givenchy’s retirement: John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Julien McDonald, and Ricardo Tisci have been attached to the house in the past 20 years. Most recently, Givenchy made headlines for tapping Claire Waight Keller as its first female artistic director in 2017. Waight Keller shared her grief at losing the designer whose brand she now oversees. “I am deeply saddened by the loss of a great man and artist I have had the honour to meet and get to know since my appointment at Givenchy,” Waight Keller stated. “Not only was he one of the most influential fashion figures of our time, whose legacy still influences modern-day dressing, but he also was one of the chicest, most charming men I have ever met.”
Take a look at some of our favourite starlets wearing the iconic Givenchy brand here
