GIVENCHY

Hubert Taffin de Givenchy was born on 20 February 1927 to a family of aristocratic French and Italian origins. He was raised by a mother with unconventional ideas and a sense of Protestant rigour; her son has always expressed his passionate admiration for her. During his happy childhood he was particularly pampered by his grandmother, who got him interested in costumes by organising memorable dressing-up sessions. He soon showed an interest in architecture and drawing, and covered his school notebooks with sketches - a talent that later helped open the doors of the great couturiers to him.