His are the only clothes in which I am myself. He is far more than a couturier, he is a creator of personality.
The famous black dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), originally designed by Givenchy, is part of movie history and represents only a small page in a long collaboration between the Hollywood star and the French designer. Hubert de Givenchy was behind many of Hepburn's iconic looks and the two together generated a timeless legacy of style.
Givenchy first worked with Hepburn on the set of the 1954 film Sabrina, in which Hepburn plays a slightly sloppy teenager who goes to Paris and transforms into a lady of elegance and class. After rejecting the designs of Paramount costume designer Edith Head, Hepburn instead asked to wear "a real Parisian dress" for the part. Hepburn was therefore directed to the French designer Hubert de Givenchy and, although he initially refused because he had to complete a collection, Hepburn still asked to see the project he was working on and ended up choosing all the designs by Givenchy for the character's Parisian wardrobe. Among her chosen dresses was a black satin boat neck dress that made her a style icon and started Hepburn's iconic association with the little black dress.
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Givenchy and Hepburn then co-designed all the dresses for her character of Jo Stockton in the 1957 film Funny Face (the musical in which she starred opposite Fred Astaire), including the stunning wedding dress she wears towards the end of the film. Since Givenchy had received no credit for her dresses in the Sabrina movie (credit was given to Edith Head instead), Hepburn made sure he was given full credit for Funny Face.
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Hepburn and Givenchy then went on to work together on the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany's, which permanently positioned Hepburn at the top of Hollywood fashion history, thanks to the black dress she wore in the film's opening scene. The three original dresses made by Givenchy for her character were deemed unsuitable for the film as they were too short. The lower half of the dress was then redesigned by Edith Head and new outfits based off the design were made for the film; therefore, none of the three original dresses made by Givenchy have ever been used in film or promotional photography.
The altered clothes that were actually worn for the film were allegedly destroyed by Head and Hepburn after filming and of the three original clothes made by Givenchy, one is still owned by the Givenchy archives, one is housed in the Madrid Cinema Museum and one was auctioned in 2006 by Christie's for a staggering £467,200 ($917,114). Related: Worth Millions: Behind the Appeal of Celebrity Memorabilia
From their first meeting in the 1950s, Givenchy and Hepburn became lifelong friends, to the point that the actress described the designer as her "best friend" and he, in turn, said he saw her as a "sister". Hepburn always preferred Givenchy designs for her own films and in her personal life. From Cecil Beaton's photo shoots for Vogue to awards ceremonies, Hepburn was rarely seen wearing another designer's clothes. In 1954, Givenchy adapted Hepburn's dress designed by Edith Head from the film Roman Holiday for the Academy Awards in which Hepburn won an Oscar. The garment is now considered one of the best Oscar dresses in history and was auctioned in 2011 for £84,000.
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Naturally Hepburn also chose Givenchy as a stylist for her wedding dress for her wedding to her second husband Andrea Dotti in 1969. Until her death in 1993, the actress and designer were close friends and their partnership elevated Audrey Hepburn to become one of the most loved Hollywood icons of all time. Her grace, class and beauty were enhanced by the dresses designed by Hubert de Givenchy and together they created a legacy of fashion.