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Hubert de Givenchy's childhood dreams

Hubert de Givenchy's childhood dreams

Write: Catherine [2011-05-20]

Hubert de Givenchy's childhood dreams

Givenchy fan Audrey Hepburn

Hubert de Givenchy feels like a butterfly.

The 83-year-old fashion designer - who founded his first couture house in Paris in 1952 -loves making clothes come alive and has always had the support of his family.

He said: "It was always my dream to be a dress designer and that my mother accepted this decision. You are like a butterfly, in every moment you must have good reception; in every moment you must be attentive and notice the little things to be creative.

"It's a fabulous thing, to give life to fabric, to make something move well, the harmony of colour."

Givenchy also credited late actress and legendary style icon Audrey Hepburn for making him a success.

The pair met when the designer received a phone call saying the stunning actress wanted him to make her costumes for cult 1954 movie 'Sabrina'.

He told Britain's Independent newspaper: "I said it would be impossible to make the clothes because I have only eight workers and to make 15 or 20 dresses in such a short time is not possible for me.

"She said, very nicely, 'I want to see your collection, right now.' It was still in preparation but I showed her and she said, 'This is right for the scene in the station' and so on, and finally we made it possible for me to dress her.

"From that day on, until she died - too early for me - the friendship was really like a special love affair."