Hubert de Givenchy, a French fashion designer who founded The House of Givenchy in 1952. He was famous for having designed much of the personal and professional wardrobe of Audrey Hepburn

Count Hubert James Marcel Taffin de Givenchy (20 February 1927^[2] – 10 March 2018^[3]) was a French fashion designer who founded The House of Givenchy in 1952. He was famous for having designed much of the personal and professional wardrobe of Audrey Hepburn and clothing for Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. He was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1970.
Hubert James Taffin de Givenchy was born on 20 February 1927 in Beauvais, Oise^[5][6][7] into a Protestant family.^[2] He was the younger son of Lucien Taffin de Givenchy (1888–1930), marquis of Givenchy, and his wife, the former Béatrice ("Sissi") Badin (1888–1976). The Taffin de Givenchy family, which traces its roots to Venice, Italy (the original surname was Taffini), was ennobled in 1713, at which time the head of the family became marquis of Givenchy.^[8] He had an elder brother, Jean-Claude de Givenchy (1925–2009), who inherited the family's marquessate and eventually became the president of Parfums Givenchy.
After his father's death from influenza in 1930, he was raised by their mother and maternal grandmother,^[7] Marguerite Dieterle Badin (1853–1940), the widow of Jules Badin (1843–1919), an artist who was the owner and director of the historic Gobelins Manufactory and Beauvais tapestry factories. Artistic professions ran in the extended Badin family. Givenchy's maternal great-grandfather, Jules Dieterle, was a set designer who also created designs for the Beauvais factory, including a set of 13 designs for the Elysée Palace. One of his great-great-grandfathers also designed sets for the Paris Opera.
He moved to Paris at the age of seventeen, where he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts.^[6][7]

Career

Givenchy's first designs were done for Jacques Fath in 1945.^[6][9] Later he did designs for Robert Piguet and Lucien Lelong (1946) – working alongside the still-unknown Pierre Balmain and Christian Dior.^[6][9] From 1947 to 1951 he worked for the avantgarde designer Elsa Schiaparelli.^[6][9]
In 1952, he opened his own design house at the Plaine Monceau in Paris.^[6][7] Later, he named his first collection "Bettina Graziani" for Paris's top model at the time.^[6] His style was marked by innovation, contrary to the more conservative designs by Dior. At 25, he was the youngest designer of the progressive Paris fashion scene. His first collections were characterized by the use of rather cheap fabrics for financial reasons, but they always piqued curiosity through their design.^{[citation needed]}
Audrey Hepburn, later the most prominent proponent of Givenchy's fashion, and Givenchy met in 1953 during the shoot of Sabrina.^[10][11] He went on to design the black dress she wore in Breakfast at Tiffany's.^[10][11]
He also developed his first perfume collection for her (L'Interdit and Le de Givenchy).^[6][7] Audrey Hepburn was the face of that fragrance. This was the first time a star was the face of a fragrance's advertising campaign, and probably the last time that it was done for free, only by friendship.^[12]
At that time, Givenchy also met his idol, Cristóbal Balenciaga.^[7][13] Although a renowned designer, Givenchy not only sought inspiration from the lofty settings of haute couture but also in such avant-garde environments as Limbo, the store in Manhattan's East Village.^[14]
Clients have included Donna Marella Agnelli, Lauren Bacall,^[5] Ingrid Bergman, Countess Mona von Bismarck, Countess Cristiana Brandolini d'Adda, Sunny von Bülow,Renata Tebaldi, Maria Callas, Capucine, Marlene Dietrich,^[5] Daisy Fellowes, Greta Garbo, Gloria Guinness, Dolores Guinness, Aimee de Heeren, Audrey Hepburn,^[10] Jane Holzer, Grace Kelly,^[10] Princess Salimah Aga Khan, Rachel Lambert Mellon, Jeanne Moreau, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis,^[10] Empress Farah Pahlavi, Babe Paley, Lee Radziwill, Comtesse Jacqueline de Ribes, Nona Hendryx, Baroness Pauline de Rothschild, Frederica von Stade, Baroness Gaby Van Zuylen van Nijevelt, Diana Vreeland, Betsey Cushing Roosevelt Whitney, Baroness Sylvia de Waldner, the Duchess of Windsor, Jayne Wrightsman, etc.
In 1954, Givenchy's prêt-à-porter collection debuted.^[7][13]
De Givenchy created the iconic 'Balloon coat' and the 'Baby Doll' dress in 1958.^[15][16]
In 1969,^[17] a men's line was also created.^[7] From 1976 through 1983, the Ford Motor Company offered a Givenchy Edition of its Continental Mark series of luxury automobiles beginning in 1976 with the Continental Mark IV coupe and ending with the 1983 Continental Mark VI coupe and sedan. In 1988, he organized a retrospective of his work at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.^[9]
The House of Givenchy was split in 1981, with the perfume line going to Veuve Clicquot, while the fashion branch was acquired by LVMH in 1989.^[18] As of today, LVMH owns Parfums Givenchy as well.^[6]


De Givenchy retired from fashion design in 1995.^[10] His successor to head the Givenchy label was John Galliano.^[6][7] After a brief stint by Galliano, a five-year stay from Alexander McQueen and a term from 2001 to 2004 by Julien Macdonald, Givenchy women's ready-to-wear and haute couture was then headed by Riccardo Tisci from 2005 until 2017.^[6][7]
Clare Waight Keller is now the creative director of the fashion house since the Resort 2018 collection.
He resided at the Château du Jonchet, a listed historic castle in Romilly-sur-Aigre, Eure-et-Loir, near Paris.^[7] In his retirement, he focused on collecting 17th and 18th-century bronze and marble sculptures.^[11] In July 2010, he spoke at the Oxford Union.^[6][7] From 8 to 14 September 2014, during the Biennale des Antiquaires, he organized a private sale exhibition at Christie's in Paris featuring, artwork by Jean-Baptiste-Claude Odiot, the Manufacture nationale de Sèvres, Jacques-Louis David, Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioson, etc.^[19]
In January 2007, The French Post Office issued postage stamps for Valentine's Day designed by Givenchy. In October 2014, a retrospective exhibition featuring ninety-five of his designed pieces took place at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid, Spain.^[10][20] His longtime partner was fashion designer Philippe Venet.^[21]
He died in his sleep at the Renaissance chateau near Paris on Saturday 10 March 2018.

Leslie Marr, a British landscape artist, painter and former Formula 1 racing driver

Sir Leslie Lynn Marr, 2nd Baronet (born 14 August 1922) is a British landscape artist, painter and former racing driver.
Marr was born in Durham, England, the son of John Lynn Marr (1877–1931) and Amelia Rachel, née Thompson (1884–1971). He was educated at Shrewsbury School and Pembroke College, Cambridge. He inherited his baronetcy in 1932, on the death of his grandfather, shipbuilder Sir James Marr, 1st Baronet, though he does not use the title. He studied engineering at Cambridge University, where he graduated in 1942. During World War II he served as a technician in the Royal Air Force. His interest in painting developed during his posting to Palestine.
 Marr participated in two Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, making his debut on 17 July 1954 at the British Grand Prix.^[3] Racing in his private Connaught, he finished in 13th place, but retired from his last world championship race in 1955, after a damaged brake pipe caused him to spin off.^[4][5]

 Marr competed in several non-Championship races, with his best results including winning the 1955 Cornwall MRC Formula 1 Race and finishing fourth in the 1956 New Zealand Grand Prix.

Marr is recognised primarily as a landscape artist and painter.^[6][7][8] After the war ended, Marr attended life classes at Heatherley's Art School in Pimlico and subsequently studied under David Bomberg at what was then known as the Borough Polytechnic (now London South Bank University). He allocated the upper floor of a bookshop he had rented as an exhibition space for Bomberg's students (who became known as the Borough Group). Following the Group's dissolution in 1950, Marr continued to paint and to travel across Britain and the continent, and it was at this time that Marr tried his hand at motor racing.^[1][9]

Between 1983 and 1991, Marr lived and painted on Arran, and later moved to a home and studio in Norfolk.^[1] Artworks by Marr are held in the public collections of the British Academy, Imperial College Collection, Laing Art Gallery Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and Pallant House Gallery, Chichester

Pope Francis, the 266th and current Pope of the Catholic Church, a title he holds ex officio as Bishop of Rome, and sovereign of Vatican City

Pope Francis (Latin: Franciscus; Italian: Francesco; Spanish: Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio;^[b] 17 December 1936) is the 266th and current Pope of the Catholic Church, a title he holds ex officio as Bishop of Rome, and sovereign of Vatican City. He chose Francis as his papal name in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi. Francis is the first Jesuit pope, the first from the Americas, the first from the Southern Hemisphere, and the first pope from outside Europe since the Syrian Gregory III, who reigned in the 8th century.
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Bergoglio worked briefly as a chemical technologist and nightclub bouncer before beginning seminary studies. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1969, and from 1973 to 1979 was Argentina's provincial superior of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). He became the Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and was created a cardinal in 2001 by Pope John Paul II. He led the Argentine Church during the December 2001 riots in Argentina, and the administrations of Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner considered him a political rival. Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI on 28 February 2013, a papal conclave elected Bergoglio as his successor on 13 March.
Throughout his public life, Pope Francis has been noted for his humility, emphasis on God's mercy, concern for the poor and commitment to interfaith dialogue. He is credited with having a less formal approach to the papacy than his predecessors, for instance choosing to reside in the Domus Sanctae Marthae guesthouse rather than in the papal apartments of the Apostolic Palace used by his predecessors. In addition, due to both his Jesuit and Ignatian aesthetic, he is known for favoring simpler vestments void of ornamentation, including refusing the traditional papal mozzetta cape upon his election, choosing silver instead of gold for his piscatory ring, and keeping the same pectoral cross he had as cardinal. He maintains that the Church should be more open and welcoming. He does not support unbridled capitalism, Marxism, or Marxist versions of liberation theology. Francis maintains the traditional views of the Church regarding abortion, marriage, ordination of women, and clerical celibacy. He opposes consumerism, irresponsible development, and supports taking action on climate change, a focus of his papacy with the promulgation of Laudato si'. In international diplomacy, he helped to restore full diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba. Since the publication of Amoris Laetitia in 2016, Francis has faced increasingly open criticism from theological conservatives, particularly on the question of admitting civilly divorced and remarried Catholics to Communion.