While Saint Laurent developed a lifelong relationship with Catherine Deneuve, de Givenchy was known for dressing another screen star, Audrey Hepburn. De Givenchy presented his line, called “Givenchy Université,” in 1954, while Saint Laurent was the first luxury designer to open a rtw boutique, “Saint Laurent Rive Gauche,” in 1966. Saint Laurent subsequently shot to fame when he was named artistic director of the house of Dior at the age of 21, following the death of the founder.īoth he and de Givenchy were among the pioneers of luxury ready-to-wear. De Givenchy again sat on the jury panel, and the design that earned first prize, a black crepe cocktail dress, was made in his ateliers. The following year he applied again, this time winning both first and third prizes in the dress category out of 6,000 anonymous entries. In 1953, Saint Laurent entered the International Wool Secretariat’s fashion design competition when he was just 16 years old, and was awarded third prize by a jury that included Christian Dior and de Givenchy. The two men’s careers were intertwined early on. Of course I am very sad to have shuttered my couture house but it was no longer possible for me to continue working in what has become a ludicrous world,” he wrote in a letter dated simply Dec. “Ever since my youth, you have never ceased to make me dream.

Saint Laurent thanks him several times for sending flowers, and describes him as a beacon in an industry that no longer felt familiar. In any case, please know that I thank you from the bottom of my heart and that I think of you with friendship and gratitude,” Saint Laurent wrote a few days later.Īlthough de Givenchy’s side of the correspondence is not available, it’s clear the two men were in regular contact. I’m in a state of shock and I feel incapable of writing the letter that I owe you and that you deserve. “Your letter and your presence at my show touched me more deeply than words can convey.

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 attended de Givenchy’s final haute couture show in 1995, alongside Valentino, Christian Lacroix, Kenzo and Oscar de la Renta.Ĭonversely, de Givenchy was present for Saint Laurent’s farewell show at the Pompidou Center in 2002. Queen Elizabeth II’s Style Throughout the Years

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