FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
As part of its 2017 cultural programme, the Museum of Lace and Fashion is unveiling the work of Hubert de Givenchy through eighty outfits and accessories sourced from prestigious private wardrobes, the archives of the House of Givenchy and museum collections, including the large Givenchy collection held by the Museum of Lace and Fashion.
Placed under the artistic direction of Mr Hubert de Givenchy himself, the exhibition spans the couturier's entire career, influenced by the history of the formative encounters that have marked his life and shaped his internationally acclaimed work. From the stir caused by his frst collection in 1952 when he launched his separates as well as the famous white shirting blouse with sleeve flounces trimmed in black embroidery, known as the “Bettina blouse”, to the final display cases dedicated to sumptuous wedding dresses, this is a thematic pathway along which we are guided by the couturier's unerring eye, to reveal his creative world.
The exhibition in Calais is one of a recent series of European exhibitions dedicated to the work of Hubert de Givenchy and staged with his cooperation. Thus, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid was the first to present an eponymous exhibition on the couturier, running from 22 October 2014 to 18 January 2015. The pieces selected for that exhibition, under the direction of Hubert de Givenchy, served as a basis for three further exhibitions - those organised by the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague (Hubert de Givenchy: To Audrey with Love, from 26 November 2016 to 26 March 2017), the Bolle Foundation in Morges, Switzerland (Audrey Hepburn et Hubert de Givenchy: une élégante amitié, from 19 May to 17 September 2017) and the Museum of Lace and Fashion (Hubert de Givenchy from 15 June to 31 December 2017), but with specific themes at each venue. Hubert de Givenchy has been personally involved in each of the exhibitions, unfailingly precise and eloquent.
He has gathered around him the same group of collaborators who have worked on each show, faithful to the couturier's present perception of his oeuvre: a remarkable series of haute couture pieces, memories of encounters and firm friendships.