Hubert de Givenchy - Case Study Example

Hubert de Givenchy Introduction Since centuries, humans have endeavored and attempted to acquire efficient ways of appearing in a decent and fashionable manner. From Stone Age to the present era of advanced technology, fashion remained a major sector of ancient, as well as contemporary human society. In specific, experts consider France as the residence and production facility of chic and elegant brands, and it is representing the notions of style and fashion since various decades. When it is about fashion in France, one cannot ignore the existence of Givenchy as a brand, as well as a designer that influenced and still persuading elite classes of the contemporary society since many years. In this regard, this paper will attempt to discuss various aspects of the life, work, achievements, designs, etc of one of the most recognized and inspiring designers of all time, Hubert de Givenchy. Background On February 20, 1927, a small town of France: Beauvais witnessed birth of Hubert de Givenchy. Although Givenchy was born in a wealthy family; however, he experienced loss of his father due to influenza at a very young age, and his grandfather and mother were responsible for his nurture and care. Analysis of the literature available on this designer indicated that his family already belonged to an artistic background that is one of the factors of Givenchy’s inspiration from the childhood (The Columbia Encyclopedia, 2009). In specific, Givenchy’s grandfather was an artist, and the family included designers of the Elysee Palace and the Paris Opera. Besides influence from the family members, the International Exhibition of Paris was a major event in the France, and Givenchy’s visit to its fashion pavilion became the most important breakthrough that lighted the match of fashion in his life. From this personal inspiration and support of the family, he studied at Beaux-Arts School after Second World War that was a very high-status arts school in the country. During his early days, Givenchy was fond of ‘Vogue’ magazines and adored work of Balenciaga in those publications. In his admiration, Givenchy once went to apply at Balenciaga but confronted disappointment due to hits rawness in the field (Porter & Prince, 261-267). However, this disappointment did not remain for long and he was able to join Jacques Fath in mid-1940s. During the same period, he got the opportunity to work for Lucien LeLong. After his employment at LeLong, Givenchy managed boutique of Else Schiaparelli from late 1940s until early 1950s. Experts believe that such brief employments of Givenchy were very learning and inspiring for him to begin his own fleet of work in the year 1952 (Williamson, pp. 62-68). Thus, Hubert de Givenchy, after studying at prestigious arts school of Paris, and a series of brief employment at various boutiques, launched his own fashion house namely the House of Givenchy. He opened his fashion house in front of Balenciaga who later became his counselor, and was already a significant source of inspiration for him. From 1952 until 1988, Givenchy enjoyed success of his fashion house; however, LVMH enforced him to sell his business due to economic confrontations (Tisci, 2009). Nonetheless, even after selling his business, his interest for fashion did not end and he continued to work for Givenchy designs for almost seven years after which he retired. Today, Givenchy is still famous and recognized for his chic and elegant representation of fashion and style. He is now eighty-two years old and lives at Le Jonchet, his personal estate. He is now enjoying his last years in the collection of antique pieces of furniture, particularly Louis XIV. Even after his retirement, people still admire and buy his art works that he made during the first ten years of his fashion house. Moreover, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the fashion museum in Paris, ‘the Musee de Mode’ have recognized efforts of Givenchy by putting his elegant gowns for the visitors (Walker, pp. 78-83). Market Segment During 1950s and 1960s, only two women dominated the market segment of the fashionable fleet of Givenchy particularly. In this regard, during these two decades, Givenchy only made fashionable clothes and accessories for Jacqueline Kennedy, wife of the US President and Audrey Hepburn, a famous Hollywood Actress. Such domination of two women from elite class of society indicates the elegance and grandeur of Givenchy’s work and his customers. In the year 1961, Givenchy designed a silk ball gown for wife of the US President that became the notion of attraction for President’s visit to France during the same year. Subsequently, in the year 1963, assassination of the US President inclined Givenchy to design funeral dress for the First Lady, and experts believe that he designed dresses for all the female members of the Kennedy family for that miserable event (Walker, pp. 78-83). Besides the First Lady, Audrey Hepburn was second love of Givenchy’s fashion world. In the first break of Hepburn, ‘Sabrina’, Audrey wore all the dresses designed by Givenchy that increased the significance and popularity of Givenchy’s fashionable existence (Walker, pp. 78-83). For more than four decades, Audrey Hepburn remained the advocate and symbol of Givenchy’s elegant and stylish designs. In the year 1957, Givenchy received the Academy Award in the category of costume design for same film mentioned above (Williamson, pp. 62-68). Designs Now the paper will discuss some of designs and fabrics observed in Givenchy’s designs and dresses. In the early period of his fashion house, Givenchy confronted financial problems that enforced him to use plain shirt material for his first collection of designs that even became very popular and successful, an indication of his elegance in simplicity. ‘Bettina’ blouse became the source of attraction in that particular show that was a high-neck classic full blouse. Even today, fashion stores in France and New York sell similar blouses as a symbol of Givenchy (In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, 2000). In the year 1968, Givenchy designed an evening gown that became the source of attraction in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The designed attempted to create an artificial contour by stripping of feathers in this dress. (In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, 2000) Further analysis of the designs of this dress indicated that designer has endeavored to create a relationship with nature while maintaining the artificial touch in the dress that is a significant effort of the designer. In addition, the designer portrayed scales of animals through illustration of short feathers in the dress from top to bottom. In the year 1963, Givenchy designed another gown that inclined museum’s management to include it in their art collections (In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, 2000). (In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, 2000) In this dress, Givenchy used glass beads with corals in a matching manner that signifies the unpretentious structure of Givenchy’s profile. This dress is an illustration of a princess-gown that resulted in significant recognition to Givenchy worldwide. In addition, this dress has an elegant and simple touch due to utilization of cotton cloth, and at the same time, represents lavishness of elite classes of the society. Promotion Today, LVMH (Moet Hennessy-Louis Vuitton) owns Givenchy’s brand of fashion clothes, accessories, and perfumes. Until the year 1993, Givenchy had only two outlets; however, now the Givenchy’s product lines of beauty, fragrance, shoes, and clothes are available in showrooms located at Barneys New York, Jeffrey New York, and Saks Fifth Avenue. Besides promotion at these boutiques, Givenchy’s management organized fashion shows in Paris that attract clients, such as Natalie Portman, Gwyneth Paltrow, etc. According to statistics for the year 1993, Givenchy was able to achieve net sales of more than 150 million dollars. Besides major showrooms, a number of outlets in Europe have Givenchy’s products. In specific, Givenchy produced designs in Italy and marketed them from its headquarters in Paris, France (Tisci, 2009). Significance Abovementioned analysis and discussion of different aspects and achievements of Hubert de Givenchy has already provided a significant indication of Givenchy’s elegance and sophistication that remained popular even after five decades of establishment of his fashion house in the year 1952. Besides his stylish designs, he was an innovative designer to incorporate unusual clothes and designs that were not visible in other designers. Moreover, another imperative significance of Givenchy’s designs was integration and introduction of easy-to-wear clothes for women that was not acceptable in fashion world before Givenchy. Today, Givenchy’s brand includes a comprehensive line of different fashion products that is a significant indication of his popularity and recognition. Works Cited "Hubert de Givenchy: Evening gown (1971.79.4)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000. Retrieved on September 02, 2009: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/haut/ho_1971.79.4.htm "Hubert de Givenchy: Evening gown (1974.184.2)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000. Retrieved on September 02, 2009: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/haut/ho_1974.184.2.htm Porter, Darwin & Prince, Danforth. Frommer’s Paris 2009. Frommer’s Press, 2008. Pp. 261. The Columbia Encyclopedia. “Givenchy, Hubert De.” Questia Encyclopedia. Retrieved on September 02, 2009: http://www.questia.com/library/encyclopedia/givenchy_hubert_de.jsp Tisci, Riccardo. “Givenchy.” New York Fashion Website. Retrieved on September 02, 2009: http://nymag.com/fashion/fashionshows/designers/bios/givenchy/ Walker, Alexander. Audrey. St. Martins & Griffin, 1998. Pp. 78. Wiilamson, Charlote. 101 Things to buy before you die. New Holland Publishers, 2007. Pp. 62. Read More