Givenchy dies at age 91

He was responsible for one of the most unforgettable images of the 20th century: The Little Black Dress Audrey Hepburn wore in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”. Comte Hubert Givenchy, was a formidable master of true couture, an aristocrat, and lived in Paris in his castle, Chateau du Jonchet, when he sadly died on Saturday at the tender age of 91. May your inspirational and God given talent to bring beauty to this world till eternity and may your soul rest in heavenly pease, Mr Givenchy! 

If Coco Chanel could not put him down for being The Inventor of the LBD, who am I to even try. (They infamously had spats around bragging rights). Designers try and retry, design and re-design, but Givenchy INNOVATED and INVENTED sophisticated romantic elegance!

He famously said “ the dress must follow the body of a woman, not the body following the shape of the dress”

He was (is) an absolute master of our industry and an icon to most of them in the know - and will remain so for eternity. Most known for the iconic Little Black Dress, Mr Givenchy also designed for Princess Grace Kelly and Jackie Bouvier Onassis Kennedy, amoung many other.

I most certainly hope we are not seeing the demise of *Haute Couture as another master of this French era / Artform passes on. I absolutely love couture (the reality of custom-made individually crafted uniqueness), it is what I do. Not on his level of course, but striving to. If it was up to me, his Romantic Elegance will never die - he used simplicity and the gracious female form as his inspiration. And ironically it is SO back in fashion right now.

*For more on Haute Couture (and how this French term is legally protected. and how the Little Black Dress influenced the world of fashion and style, visit www.thestylebible.co.za