Paris , Yves Saint Laurent was famous for speaking ill of his competitors, but there was one colleague who found grace in his eyes: Hubert de Givenchy.
Saint Laurent announced his admiration for the couturier publicly in a 1991 interview, and privately in a series of letters in which he thanked the designer for his support and professed his deep respect for his oeuvre. . Her successors shared correspondence with WWD with the sale of de Givenchy’s collection of art and furniture at Christie’s in Paris the following week.
“There are very few creators of genius. To be precise, I’d say there have been only two — Givenchy and I. The rest, the others, that’s the mob, the horror… Zero,” WWD wrote in a 1991 article titled “St. Laurent’s Biting Words”, quoting him. ,
The late couturier reportedly made the comment in an interview with Vanessa van Zuylen in her then-new magazine L’Insense. “Ever since Chanel and Balenciaga faced off, there’s nothing but Givenchy and me,” Saint Laurent is quoted as saying.
While the friendship is not well documented, there are photographs of Saint Laurent at the opening of the “Givenchy: 40 Years of Creation” exhibition at the Palais Galliera in Paris in 1991, and he was among the designers who designed de Givenchy. Last attended Haute. Couture show with Valentino, Christian Lacroix, Kenzo and Oscar de la Renta in 1995.
In contrast, de Givenchy was present for Saint Laurent’s farewell event at the Pompidou Center in 2002.
“Your letter and your presence on my show have touched me more deeply than words. I am in a state of shock and I feel unable to write the letter for which I am indebted to you and which you deserve. In any case, please know that I thank you from the bottom of my heart and I think of you with friendship and gratitude,” Saint Laurent wrote a few days later.
Although De Givenchy’s side of the correspondence is not available, it is clear that the two men were in regular contact. Saint Laurent thanked him several times for sending him flowers, and described him as a lighthouse in an industry that was no longer familiar.
“Since my youth, you have never made me stop dreaming. Of course I am deeply saddened to close my couture house, but it was no longer possible for me to continue working in a strange world,” he wrote in a letter dated December 17.
The careers of the two men were quickly intertwined. In 1953, Saint Laurent entered the International Wool Secretariat’s fashion design competition when he was just 16 years old, and was awarded the third prize by a jury that included Christian Dior and de Givenchy.
She applied again the following year, this time winning both first and third prizes in the dress category out of 6,000 unnamed entries. De Givenchy sat on the jury panel again, and the design that earned first prize, a black crepe cocktail dress, was created in his atelier.
After the death of the founder, Saint Laurent later rose to prominence when he was named artistic director of the house of Dior at the age of 21.
Both he and De Givenchy were among the pioneers of luxury ready-to-wear. De Givenchy introduced his line called “Givenchy University” in 1954, while Saint Laurent was the first luxury designer to open an RTW boutique, “Saint Laurent Rive Gouache,” in 1966.
While Saint Laurent developed a lifelong relationship with Catherine Deneuve, de Givenchy was best known for dressing another screen star, Audrey Hepburn. And the two amassed an impressive collection of works of art, sculpture and furniture that made them one of the leading tastemakers of their time.
In the early 70s, Saint Laurent entered into a long-running feud with Karl Lagerfeld, which was often played out in the press. In contrast, her friendship with De Givenchy was so private, it is rarely mentioned in biography, and even little known to fashion historians.
Saint Laurent wrote on January 25, 1996, “I feel so alone in this profession now, and I realize how much I miss you.”
“I was deeply moved by the words you used to define my work. Considering how corrupt the profession has become, it takes a lot of courage to keep doing couture,” said Saint Laurent 8 September , followed 1997.
Although it is not known how his correspondent reacted, the letters provide a sense of Saint Laurent’s alienation and de Givenchy’s trademark discretion.
See all:
Hubert de Givenchy’s 91. have died in
A Look Back: Givenchy on the Changing World of Fashion
Documentary depicts the grand life of Hubert de Givenchy
Originally published at Pen 18
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