“I started working at Jacques Fath’s when I was seventeen. The six years that followed I had the pleasure of joining Robert Piguet’s, then Lelong and Madame Schiaparelli for four years. My goal was to have my own fashion house. I did not intend to compete with other creative greats but rather to make what was called at the time Separates. A new formula, in my view more modern and more up-to-date”. When he brought in his first collection, Hubert de Givenchy surprised the establishment with a series of individual pieces — the ‘Separates’. Blouses and light dresses designed to be mixed. Whereas the gesture does not carry today anything out of the ordinary, it represented at the time of suits and ensembles an overtaking of strict rules. 

 

A fourfold G forming a skillfully aerated square — the Givenchy seal signs thenceforth a fashion that’s eminently a sophisticated fashion, yet stemming from a highly traditional savoir-faire. Because, balance between tradition and modernity, between forward-thinking codes and secular tradition in clothing: this is the heart of the fashion house at Avenue Georges V. Thus, when the couturier, by full name Hubert James Marcel Taffin de Givenchy, sets to imagine his house’s ‘logo’, it is through scribbling here and there that he succeeds in the creation of a signature with such aplomb. Doodling in this way countless variations of the word ‘Givenchy’ on the boxes for his jewellery line, the couturier achieves a signature that meets the elegance and smooth fancy of his work. 

 

To a prêt-à-porter that stands out by the tremendous precision in the details responds then a logo that picks up from celtic jewellery design. Wealthy, timeless and the imprint of sobriety, Givenchy’s signature transcends the ages with both appeal and distinction. Falling in this way within an ancient form of classicism, the logo can henceforth seal the luxury of Clare Waight Keller’s work. Like the GV3 bag, the first collection of accessories from the current artistic director. And series of icons to be!