De La Hoz - Audrey and Givenchy : a fashion love affair

To Mom, whose love of leopard print and high heels inspired my love of fashion.

2016 by Cindy De La Hoz

Published by Running Press,

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2015956780

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Table of Contents

CONTENTS

A FITTING WITH GIVENCHY FOR FUNNY FACE (1957). Designer and star got along famously from the start. Audrey once said of her friend, There are few people I love more. He is the single person I know with the greatest integrity.

P ERHAPS NO TWO ARTISTS HAVE HAD A greater impact on contemporary fashion than Audrey Hepburn and Hubert de Givenchy. Together, they popularized trends that brought fashion into the modern age, including the steadfast Little Black Dress. Over the course of their forty-year friendship and professional partnership, Audrey Hepburn became a style icon. The looks she wore came to be regarded as timeless, and she continues to be the ultimate fashion role model for millions around the world. This enduring boon to the fashion world all sprang from Audrey and Givenchys brilliant, collaborative partnership, which began at the start of their careers, when they were merely in their mid-twenties.

In 1953, Audrey won the hearts of movie audiences everywhere with her performance in the romantic fairy tale Roman Holiday. Not only was she the most endearing personality to hit the screen in years; she was a genuine original. She looked so different from the other leading ladies of the day. Neither blonde nor buxom in the manner of Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell, or even a young Elizabeth Taylor, this gamine stood out as uniquely interesting. The problem for Audrey was that Hollywood costumers were not exactly designing for her silhouette at the time. Even though she wasnt a designer herself, there was one thing Audrey knew in spades when it came to fashion: what worked for her. She didnt care to pad out her naturally slim figure, and she favored the comfort of flats to high heels (preferably half a size larger than needed so that they would be less prone to wear). Givenchy said, She always took the clothes created for her one step further by adding something of her own, some small personal detail which enhanced the whole. In Roman Holiday, she added flair to her Edith Head costume by wearing a belt with her skirt and tying a scarf around her neck. Audrey wanted to convey who she was through her clothes.

Fortunately for Audrey, her next film, Sabrina, would lead her to a lifelong partner in this endeavor. In search of authentic French fashions that her character in the film would wear, she turned to the up-and-coming Hubert de Givenchy. Though the designer had never heard of Audrey before, he agreed to let her wear his designs in the movie. Beginning with the high-necked dcollet Sabrina style featured in the film, Givenchy clothes worn by Audrey Hepburn started trends, with women everywhere copying her look. Fortunately for us, the clean lines, comfort, and lack of pretention of her style happen to flatter most body types.

Givenchy later said, In film after film, Audrey wore clothes with such talent and flair that she created a style, which in turn had a major impact on fashion. Her chic, her youth, her bearing, and her silhouette grew ever more celebrated, enveloping me in a kind of aura or radiance that I could never have hoped for. The Hepburn style had been born, and it lives today. Audrey, meanwhile, always felt that Givenchys designs enhanced her work: if she dressed the part, she could act the part. [Givenchy] is far more than a couturier, he is a creator of personality, Audrey said in 1956.

Audrey and Givenchys tastes and sensibilities complemented and enhanced each other. The essence of their approach to fashion is perhaps best surmised by Audreys son, Sean Ferrer, when he said, She saw the clothes he created as the beautiful vase that would enhance a simple field flower, whereas he viewed them as the vase that is kept simple so that nothing will detract from the natural beauty of the flower itself.... [That] elegance had its roots in both their inner values. It came from the right place. It wasnt a way to be noticed but a way to be humble. Together, they were a brilliant meeting of mindsand they became the best of friends.

This book is a salute to Audrey and Givenchys work both onscreen and off. It features profiles of the seven classic films on which they collaborated (plus two late-career Audrey movies), and a section covering their greatest off-screen fashion hits for awards shows and events. It showcases the styles that kept women running to stores hoping to capture a bit of Audreys magic in the 1950s and 60s, and which today continue to inspire and delight.