“The fabric is the thing that inspires you first. Then comes the creation (of the design) and knowing how to give the fabric its best possible value.”
— Hubert de Givenchy - Vogue
“During those many years of couture collections, there were always fabrics which I liked more than others. The allure, the odour of the silk, the feel of a velvet, the crackle of a ‘duchess’ satin—what intoxication! How truly wonderful! The colours, the sheen of a faille, the iridescent side of a shot taffeta, the strength of a brocade, the caress of a velvet panel—what bliss! What extraordinary sensuality”
— Hubert de Givenchy - The Great Fashion Designers
“Never work against the fabric, which has a life of its own.”
— Hubert de Givenchy
“Today as I was working I could feel Balenciaga’s hand on my shoulder. He was saying: Subtract. Make it simple. Make it pure.”
— Hubert de Givenchy
“Audrey [Hepburn] wore clothes with such talent and flair that she created a style, which in turn had a major impact on fashion. Her chic, her youth, her bearing and her silhouette grew ever more celebrated, enveloping in me a kind of aura or radiance that I could never have hoped for.”
— Hubert de Givenchy
“When I was a schoolboy, my grandmother rewarded me for good grades by showing her treasures—whole cabinets filled with every kind of fabric, all of which left me utterly dazzled. Could I have sensed that one day fabrics in the hundreds and thousands of metres [sic] would pass through my hands?”
— Hubert de Givenchy
“He [Balenciaga] taught me it isn’t necessary to put a button where it doesn’t belong, or to add a flower to make a dress beautiful. It is beautiful of itself.”
— Hubert de Givenchy
“The little black dress is the hardest thing to realise, because you must keep it simple.”
