Givenchy

Givenchy is a French luxury house founded in Paris in 1952 by the designer Hubert de Givenchy [2]. It began as a haute couture maison and has since grown into a wider luxury business spanning fashion, fragrance, makeup and skincare. Since 1988 it has been owned by the conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, which still holds both the fashion house and its beauty subsidiary [8]. The house is headquartered at 3 avenue George V in Paris.

For beauty shoppers, Givenchy is known chiefly through its fragrances and its makeup line. The brand frames itself around "new elegance with a modern twist and femininity," carrying forward the signature style of its founder, according to the company.

Hubert de Givenchy established his eponymous couture house in Paris in 1952, when he was in his mid-twenties [8]. The debut collection drew immediate attention; Vogue described it as "one of the most newsworthy happenings this spring." Early in his career Givenchy worked closely with the couturier Cristóbal Balenciaga, whose architectural approach to clothing shaped his own.

The house became closely tied to the actress Audrey Hepburn, a lifelong friend and muse of the founder. He designed costumes for several of her films, and their partnership would later extend into the brand's first fragrance.

In 1957 the house expanded beyond clothing with the launch of its first fragrance, L'Interdit, and the establishment of Les Parfums Givenchy in Beauvais [3]. L'Interdit had originally been created as a private gift for Hepburn; when the founder decided to sell it publicly, she agreed to lend it her name and became its face. Wikipedia records her as the first actress to become the face of a perfume [4].

The beauty business broadened over the following decades. In 1989 Givenchy introduced its skincare and makeup lines, extending the name into colour cosmetics [8]. Hubert de Givenchy retired in 1995 [3]. In the years since, the couture house has passed through a series of well-known creative directors — including John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Riccardo Tisci, Clare Waight Keller and, from 2024, Sarah Burton [2].

Givenchy was sold to LVMH in 1988, and the group continues to own the fashion house together with its beauty arm, Parfums Givenchy [8]. Within LVMH, it sits alongside other fragrance and cosmetics names such as Guerlain, Dior, Kenzo Fragrance, Acqua di Parma and Benefit Cosmetics.

Leadership is split across the group's corporate structure. The LVMH maison page lists Amandine Ohayon as chief executive [1], a role tied to the perfumes and beauty side, while Wikipedia records Alessandro Valenti as chief executive of the fashion house, appointed in July 2024 [2].

Givenchy's beauty catalogue is built on fragrance and makeup. Its fragrance heritage runs from L'Interdit through later releases including Gentleman, Amarige, Ange ou Démon and Pi, spanning women's and men's lines launched between 1957 and 1999.

In makeup, two ranges anchor the line. Prisme Libre, a four-shade loose powder introduced in 2006, is described by the beauty site Really Ree as a cult-favourite, and the line has since grown to include foundation and concealer [7]. The Le Rouge lipstick range is the other signature, sold in variants such as Le Rouge Sheer Velvet and Le Rouge Perfecto 3-in-1 Couture Balm.

Production is based in France. Parfums Givenchy runs a combined perfume and cosmetics facility in Beauvais, opened in 1968, and a perfume plant in Vervins, opened in 1995 [3].

Beyond its debut praise in Vogue, the house has long been associated with prominent figures of mid-century cinema and society. Alongside Audrey Hepburn, sources name Jacqueline Kennedy, Grace Kelly, Greta Garbo and Elizabeth Taylor among those who favoured Givenchy [8].

Givenchy is an active, global business. Wikipedia records 177 stores worldwide as of 2025, current creative leadership under Sarah Burton, and a continuously updated beauty division producing fragrance, makeup and skincare [2].