Keeping up with all the luxury brands in the market can be pretty exhausting for real.
Many people believe there aren’t many and that only some popular ones like Armani, Ralph Lauren, and Chanel are worth mentioning. However, when you listen to someone mention a new one or a name you’re familiar with, you notice there aren’t just a few but rather dozens.
With so many available, how do you know which ones are worth your time and searches? Also, can you afford any of them in the first place?
Well, we are quite suckers for luxury brands. Not necessarily because we have the money to buy from them (though we are guilty of spending on some items), but rather because we like the stories behind their foundation and how people reached the top.
After all, everything starts with a person, a dream, and a well-developed idea and is brought to the top.
You have Givenchy leading the part of stories and background among the luxury brands you can admire for more than its merchandise and usual items.
This is why we decided to give the brand its own space and share some details and information you will love and might be interested in if you are deciding to get a product from the store.
When It All Started: Hubert de Givenchy
If you want to know about a brand or just anything in the world, shouldn’t you start with the person who created it or its origins? Yes? That’s what we thought so.
We always take the time to learn about the founders behind luxury brands and how they reached the top.
In the case of the luxurious Givenchy, we have Hubert de Givenchy.
Following his full name, Hubert James Marcel Taffin de Givenchy, he was born in Beauvais, northern France, on February 20, 1927.
According to details and history, his father was Lucien Givenchy, and his mother was Beatrice Taffin de Givenchy.
They gave him and Jean-Claude, his brother, an aristocratic legacy. Givenchy is known for being raised in the home of his maternal grandmother after his mother, Lucien, passed away in 1930.
After a quiet childhood with the tragedy of losing his mother while being too young, Givenchy left to Paris in 1944 to study art at the École Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts.
Although Givenchy considered a career as a lawyer, he chose to go into fashion, which was unexpected for those who knew him during his early years.
As a result of his decision, he started an apprenticeship with designer Jacques Fath at the age of 17, which later took him to be a designer for famous French couture houses such as Lucien Lelong and Robert Piguet, and let’s not forget about working with Elsa Schiaparelli.
A Big Fashion House: Givenchy
After working with so many houses and famous designers, Givenchy started to think like every designer: He wanted his own business and design house.
It is only expected, and as a result, Hubert started a modest business plan that included a small store and began designing different clothes.
His first collection featured separates long skirts and tailored tops. The “Bettina blouse,” named after Bettina Graziani, was a huge success during this time.
His next collections featured elegant evening gowns, feminine hairstyles, and tailored suits, and with their success, Givenchy became synonymous with Parisian chic.
Givenchy met Cristobal Balenciaga in 1953, who ended up being a great mentor he had admired for a long time.
The “sack” silhouette was introduced by Givenchy and Cristobal Balenciaga in the mid-1950s. It is a loose, unlined form with no waistline, and both designers made history thanks to their contribution to the fashion industry.
In the 1960s, Givenchy was setting new trends and known as the definition of luxury and quality in the industry while embracing youth culture. He began to favor shorter hemlines than his earlier designs and straighter silhouettes.
Due to his success during the 1960s, Givenchy was a designer for many celebrities, including Audrey Hepburn, who won the Oscar. He would also become close to her in terms of her cinematic style.
He also designed the attire for “Funny Face” (1957) and “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (1961).
Givenchy was also responsible for the design of the Hepburn films “Love in the Afternoon” (1957), “Charade” (63), “Paris When it Sizzles” (1964), and “Steal a Million” (1966).
In 1957, Givenchy released L’Interdit, a popular perfume inspired by Hepburn, who was a great inspiration when he met her during the film production of the first two movies.
Other well-known women of fashion dressed by Givenchy included the U.S. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis wore Givenchy during an official visit at Versailles in 1961; Princess Grace of Monaco; Wallis Simpson; and socialite Babe Paley.
Givenchy continued to design for seven years after selling his business in 1988 to luxury conglomerate Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey.
He then retired and presented his last collection in 1995. John Galliano succeeded him. Alexander McQueen later served as his head designer, while Riccardo Tisci followed him.
Givenchy spent his final years at Le Jonchet, a French country estate.
His work was featured in retrospective exhibitions at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology and Paris’ Musee Galliera. In 1996, he even received the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Behind Its Success – Givenchy’s Uniqueness
With so many fashion brands out there and clothing options, how can some be so popular to the point of reaching the top in an industry?
Is it all about the quality of the clothes? The materials used or more like techniques to get specific results?
Givenchy’s case, it is much more than just the designs and items, though they do influence how unique it is.
First, the designs of its founder were known for its couture and the ready-to-wear features that made everything comfortable and different for women.
However, Givenchy’s legacy involves the concept of personal style, which has been a great deal over the last few decades despite being a bit “obvious” nowadays.
Givenchy has always embraced it since its inception, and its main designer from which the brand takes its name spend years encouraging women to follow their preferences and styles.
Audrey Hepburn, which we briefly mentioned during his story, is actually known for being his muse, and we left the information to this point since this longtime friend played a huge role in what the brand is today.
Having been his personal designer for wardrobe in both films and real life, Audrey was the best image for Givenchy and the designer’s style to show the world.
Unusual fabrics and designs have been the signature for the brand during all these years, and how “weird” yet stunning they look is what leads people to continue choosing it over many others.
This is why it has been a brand that makes trends and exceeds expectations and has never seen black clouds above it in terms of success and obstacles.
Although Givenchy is known for its clothing collections and the brand continues to be at the top with them, fragrances, accessories, and more items continued to be added and embraced the same concepts yet different to bring diversity and new options for women and men.
Prices & Value: Can You Buy a Givenchy?
This is probably the one million question (almost literally): Can you afford to buy even an item from the brand?
It isn’t a secret luxury brands are known for this name because of the costs of their items more than even the quality of the clothes.
As a result, it isn’t easy for everyone to access them and instead, you have to think about whether you can spend the money on even accessories or small items.
Now, is Givenchy one of those luxury brands that doesn’t even have an item you can buy? After all, some like Chanel and Armani have a few ones you can get for about $50 or a bit more.
However, others like Louis Vuitton aren’t that sympathetic about costs.
That being said, we will leave you a list with some of the merchandise available from the brand, and of course, we are going to include an average price for the collections and items:
- Accessories: For both men and women, you can find scarves, rings, cardholders, earrings, and more, which range from $175 to $500.
- Women’s wardrobe: T-shirts, pants, outwear, blousons, sweatshirts, jackets, tops, and much more are included with a starting price of $535 and reach even the $10k mark.
- Men’s wardrobe: Includes hoodies, t-shirts, sweaters, and similar items as for women, which start at a similar price of $495 and go up to $10k as well.
- Kids collection: Pants, t-shirts, and jackets are included in this merchandise, which costs $175 to $1.6k.
- Fragrances: Come in four presentations 35 ml, 50 ml, 80 ml, and 125 ml for both men and women, and prices range from $40 to $150.
- Makeup and skincare: Lipsticks, powder, foundation, and similar products start at $35 and go up to $130+.
Givenchy is also known for having a Maison option in its store. Though, the items sold aren’t always available in their direct stores and franchises.
Loving Celebrities: Endorsements & Popularity
Givenchy is one of those brands that know how to take advantage of celebrities, models, and figures who are the talk of the industry and among clients.
Thus, you will notice many artists endorsed by the brand who are also part of it as the image for fragrances, clothing collections, and much more.
Simon Baker, Liv Tyler, Amanda Seyfried, Justin Timberlake, Ariana Grande, and Alicia Keys are among the most known celebrities who have taken part in the brands’ ads and collaborations.
Amanda Seyfried x Givenchy was quite the boom when it came out, and let’s not talk about Ariana’s Grande collection, which sold thousands of items in a few weeks.
Most of the collaborations with artists and celebrities involve perfumes rather than other items.
However, makeup, skincare, and some clothes are advertised using their image, as we previously mentioned.
Of course, we couldn’t forget about celebrities who have chosen to wear Givenchy during red carpets over many other designers.
Kim Kardashian, Madonna, Kylie Jenner, and Gal Gadot are only a few we can continue to mention.
Although Givenchy is a favorite for men’s clothes, it is a fact that women’s collections and designs always boom over the first ones due to the unique results.
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