Iconic French fashion designer Givenchy dies at 91

Hubert de Givenchy, the aristocratic French fashion designer famous for the “Little black dress” and styling Audrey Hepburn and Jackie Kennedy, has died aged 91, his partner said Monday.

Givenchy set the template for ladylike chic in the 1950s and 1960s, and his restrained style still informs the way Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and older American and Chinese socialites dress.

His partner, the former haute couture designer Philippe Venet, announced his death through the Givenchy fashion house, saying he had
died in his sleep on Saturday.

The pair lived in a Renaissance chateau near Paris.

“It is with huge sadness that we inform you that Hubert Taffin de Givenchy has died,” it said in a statement to AFP.

The designer’s “nephews and nieces share Mr Venet’s grief,” it added.

At 6ft 6in tall, Givenchy, whose full name was Count Hubert James Marcel Taffin de Givenchy, was a giant of the fashion world in every sense.

In 1969, the designer launched a menswear line called Givenchy Gentleman. He sold the Givenchy house to luxury conglomerate LVMH in 1988, staying on until he retired in 1995.

“Not only was he one of the most influential fashion figures of our time, whose legacy still influences modern day dressing,” wrote.

Givenchy artistic director Clare Waight Keller on his passing, “but he also was one of the chicest most charming men I have ever met.”