Givenchy's perfume "taboo" for Hepburn
On March 10, 2018, Hubert de Givenchy, the benchmark of fashion, passed away in his sleep. He also had many celebrity friends, Jacqueline Kennedy, Lauren Beccaul, and Ingrid Bowman, but he was best known for his 40-year friendship with Hepburn.
The meme we know well is that when Audrey Hepburn, who was not famous at the time, wanted to choose costumes for "Dragon and Phoenix", she took the initiative to find givenchy, a designer who was already quite famous at that time, hoping that he could serve herself. And Givenchy just heard that Ms. Hepburn was coming to try on it, and was full of joy that she thought it was Catherine Hepburn, whom she had admired for a long time, who thought that it was this kitten-like Lady Hepburn who came the next day.
Although the dress in "Dragon and Phoenix Match" was not designed by Givenchy for Hepburn, it opened the two people's forty years of companionship
Givenchy apologetically told her: Miss, although I am more than happy to serve you, my studio has only a limited number of sewing tools, and I myself am now busy with the new season of the fashion show, and I really can't design costumes for you.
Hepburn replied: Can I see the costumes on display last season?
When Hepburn put on Givenchy's design, even the designer himself felt a bright spot, and later Hepburn once said: "I seem to be born to wear the clothes he designed." Hepburn was well aware of her own needs, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of her appearance and figure, and she knew that she would wear an evening gown with a flat neck and shaved shoulders to cover her rugged collarbone.
A hand-drawn copy of Givenchy's custom lilac robe, the color of which was originally pink
Although given the time of that collaboration, Givenchy did not design costumes specifically for Hepburn, but only took out a few ready-made dresses from his fashion house, but let him meet the eternal muse. It is also worth mentioning that the same film made the famous costume designer Edith Hyde win the Oscar for the sixth time, and she did not make a big contribution in the acceptance speech, but sincerely thanked Givenchy, which is quite meaningful in American society. Because the status of the costume designer there is not high, and her speech almost represents the first public recognition of this industry by the Hollywood mainstream.
Givenchy gave Hepburn a custom lilac robe with an embroidered short shirt
Since then, nearly 80 percent of Hepburn's costumes have been designed by Givenchy. Both are perfectionists who work with all their might and strive for perfection in every detail. In order to try on the installation, Hepburn could even stand still for several hours.
Givenchy's white dress for Hepburn also became one of the best dresses on the Oscars that year
In 1954, Hepburn won the Oscar for Best Actress for "Roman Holiday" and appeared at the awards ceremony for the first time in a Givenchy dress. This white dress has also become one of the best dresses at the Oscars in previous years.
Hepburn auditioned Sweet Sister at Studio Givenchy
The seemingly simple black suit in "Sweet Sister" has become a classic design used in many movies
In 1961, the little black dress in "Breakfast at Tiffany" is still a classic today and continues to inspire modern designers, given that Givenchy once said, "The little black dress is the hardest to achieve because you have to keep it simple." The black dress sold for £467,200 at auction in London, setting a record for the highest auction for a film costume.
The little black dress of "Breakfast at Tiffany's"
Hepburn's most memorable collaboration with Givenchy has been written in the history of fashion in the little black dress
In 1958, Givenchy launched the first bottle of Hepburn-inspired perfume, and Hepburn took the initiative to endorse his friends and completed the first celebrity-starred perfume advertisement in history. And this perfume, called "Forbidden", is said to be the only perfume Hepburn uses.
Givenchy's small black dress with a bow decoration for Hepburn became the "Sabrina suit"
When Hepburn married in 1969, she was also wearing a long-sleeved pink knit dress designed by Givenchy.
In 1988, Givenchy received the Lifetime Achievement Award in California, USA. Hepburn wore a red dress designed for her by Givenchy to celebrate the awards ceremony.
Givenchy's set of costumes symbolizing the goddess of victory, designed by Givenchy in red velvet, is shot in the Louvre in Paris.
A long friendship separated them through death, and before audrey Hepburn's death on January 20, 1993, the coffin bearers who accompanied her on her last journey were the five most important men of her life—her sons Shane and Luca, her last partner Robert Wardes, her second husband, Andrea Doti, and Givenchy.
When Hepburn was diagnosed with appendicitis in Los Angeles with only three months to live, her greatest wish was to return to Switzerland, her beloved home in rural Tolochegnac. But long-distance travel was quite dangerous and fatal for her at the time, until two friends, Lambert Mellon and Givenchy, came up with a workable plan.
Lifelong friends: Givenchy and Audrey Hepburn
Givenchy provided his own private jet, accompanied by Mellon, to fly with Hepburn from Los Angeles back to the 19th-century house near Lausanne. Along the way, the pilots were careful to keep the flight steady, slowly lifting and descending, allowing Hepburn to return home safely and spend the last Christmas of his life at home.
2015 Vansch's book to Hepburn, "Love for Audrey"
Hepburn told her friends that it was the most beautiful Christmas she had ever had. This Christmas was Givenchy's last gift to Hepburn, and in 2015, in an interview with The Telegraph, Givenchy called the relationship "a face of marriage."
And this year, given the year in his 80s, Givenchy reappeared in public after years of retirement, precisely for Hepburn. He published a book, To Audrey with Love.