Givenchy

Hubert de Givenchy opened his house in 1952 with Les Séparables, a collection of separates in raw cotton shirting that included the Bettina blouse, named for the model Bettina Graziani. Vogue praised the debut, and he went on to present an early shirt dress in 1954 and one of the first couture-made ready-to-wear lines, Givenchy Université.

In 1953 he met Audrey Hepburn, who wore his clothes on and off screen for decades, from Sabrina (1954) to Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), whose little black dress became one of the best-known garments of the century. Menswear followed in 1969 with Gentleman Givenchy.

LVMH bought the house in 1988. Givenchy retired in 1995 and was succeeded by a run of young British designers: John Galliano, Alexander McQueen and Julien Macdonald. Riccardo Tisci led from 2005 to 2017, followed by Clare Waight Keller, the house's first woman artistic director, who designed the Duchess of Sussex's 2018 wedding dress. Matthew Williams, co-founder of 1017 ALYX 9SM, led from 2020 to 2023. Sarah Burton was appointed in September 2024 and showed her first collection in March 2025.