Hubert de Givenchy, designer of the ‘little black dress’ and stylist to Audrey Hepburn, dies aged 91

Hubert de Givenchy, the aristocratic French fashion designer famous for the “little black dress” and styling Audrey Hepburn and Jackie Kennedy, has died aged 91, his partner said Monday.

Givenchy set the template for ladylike chic in the 1950s and 1960s, and his restrained style still informs the way Britain’s Queen Elizabeth and older American and Chinese socialites dress.

His long-time partner, the former haute couture designer Philippe Venet, announced his death through the Givenchy fashion house, saying he had died in his sleep on Saturday.

“It is with huge sadness that we inform you that Hubert Taffin de Givenchy has died,” it said in a statement to AFP. 

It was Givenchy’s 40-year friendship with Hepburn, who he met on the set of the Billy Wilder’s Oscar-winning comedy Sabrina in 1953, that helped make him a fashion legend.

The narrow-collared suits and slim woollen dresses Givenchy designed for the gamine actress for Funny Face and How to Steal a Million made both of them style icons.