美国国家公共电台 NPR French Fashion Designer Hubert De Givenchy Dies At 91

 

SARAH MCCAMMON, HOST:

A man who dressed some of the most glamorous¹ women in the world has died. Hubert de Givenchy died at 91. As NPR's Neda Ulaby reports, he helped import French couture to America partly by way of Hollywood.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "SABRINA")

WILLIAM HOLDEN: (As David Larrabee) Sabrina...

NEDA ULABY, BYLINE²: The story of how Hubert de Givenchy dressed Audrey Hepburn for the 1954 movie "Sabrina" is enshrined in fashion legend.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "SABRINA")

HOLDEN: (As David Larrabee) You look wonderful.

ULABY: When Hepburn first called Givenchy to ask if she could visit him in Paris, he assumed it was Katharine Hepburn. Instead...

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "CHARLIE ROSE")

HUBERT DE GIVENCHY: A beautiful and very tiny, skinny person came and asked me to do the dress for "Sabrina."

ULABY: Givenchy remembering the moment in a Charlie Rose interview from 1998. In "Sabrina," Hepburn transforms from a tomboy into a glamorous debutante³ thanks in part to her splendid Parisian gowns.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "SABRINA")

AUDREY HEPBURN: (As Sabrina Fairchild) What a lovely party.

HOLDEN: (As David Larrabee) It is now.

ULABY: Hepburn's friendship with the designer would last throughout her life. She wore his clothes exclusively for much of her career, offscreen and on, including the classic little black dress that was practically a character in "Breakfast At Tiffany's." Fashion writer Dana Turk says Hubert de Givenchy abandoned the provinces to study fashion as a teenager. He was interested in haute couture, those super exclusive designs that are often one of a kind. He founded his own fashion house when he was only in his mid-20s.

DANA TURK: He was sort of seen as this Young Turk among - in a glorious time of haute couture - the golden years, the post-war years when you had all these young designers who had suffered through the war in their youth come out and just decide that Paris and Parisian women needed to just be spectacularly beautiful.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Here's the latest look from Paris, filmed in Paris - flattering new creations by...

ULABY: Spurred in part by newsreels like this one and movies and magazines, wealthy women flocked to Givenchy's frocks. He was canny⁴ about building relationships with wealthy American clients. One heiress used to brag⁵ he designed her gardening clothes. Givenchy himself came from a noble family that disdained⁶ his interest in fashion, which started when he was a child.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "CHARLIE ROSE")

GIVENCHY: I really dreamed, when I am a young boy, to be a dress designer.

ULABY: Givenchy speaking in 1998 with Charlie Rose.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "CHARLIE ROSE")

GIVENCHY: It is not possible. You must be a lawyer. You must be...

CHARLIE ROSE: Banker.

GIVENCHY: ...A banker. But to be a dress designer...

ROSE: Perhaps a statesman but never a dress designer.

GIVENCHY: Never.

ULABY: But Givenchy was a statesman of sorts. He created one of the first luxury ready-to-wear lines of simple yet sumptuous⁷ clothes. He was a mix-and-match pioneer, and he eschewed⁸ stiff, uncomfortable tailoring.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GIVENCHY: It is so wonderful, you know, to create clothes, to create dress, to touch fabric⁹.

ULABY: Givenchy was also known for his lucrative¹⁰ licensing¹¹ deals. He sold his business for almost $50 million in the 1980s when he admitted fashion had changed.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GIVENCHY: For me, to be well-dressed, to be clean, to be (speaking French), to be elegant I think is the most marvelous thing. But to wear heavy shoes, too much black - this is not fashion. You know, I think it's terrible. It is not for me.

ULABY: But Hubert de Givenchy left a mark on fashion you can still see everywhere, from Bergdorf Goodman to the Gap. He died on Saturday at the age of 91, having left the world a vastly more elegant place. Neda Ulaby, NPR News.

1 glamorous   

adj.富有魅力的；美丽动人的；令人向往的

参考例句：

• The south coast is less glamorous but full of clean and attractive hotels.南海岸魅力稍逊，但却有很多干净漂亮的宾馆。
• It is hard work and not a glamorous job as portrayed by the media.这是份苦差，并非像媒体描绘的那般令人向往。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 debutante   

n.初入社交界的少女

参考例句：

• The debutante's photograph was at the head of the society page.那位初进社交界少女的照片登在社会版的最上头。
• She dazzled London society as the most beautiful debutante of her generation.她首次出现在伦敦社交界便艳惊四座，被视为同龄人里最美丽的年轻女子。

4 canny   

adj.谨慎的，节俭的

参考例句：

• He was far too canny to risk giving himself away.他非常谨慎，不会冒险暴露自己。
• But I'm trying to be a little canny about it.但是我想对此谨慎一些。

5 brag   

v./n.吹牛，自夸；adj.第一流的

参考例句：

• He made brag of his skill.他夸耀自己技术高明。
• His wealth is his brag.他夸张他的财富。

6 disdained   

鄙视( disdain的过去式和过去分词 )； 不屑于做，不愿意做

参考例句：

• I disdained to answer his rude remarks. 我不屑回答他的粗话。
• Jackie disdained the servants that her millions could buy. 杰姬鄙视那些她用钱就可以收买的奴仆。

7 sumptuous   

adj.豪华的，奢侈的，华丽的

参考例句：

• The guests turned up dressed in sumptuous evening gowns.客人们身着华丽的夜礼服出现了。
• We were ushered into a sumptuous dining hall.我们被领进一个豪华的餐厅。

8 eschewed   

v.（尤指为道德或实际理由而）习惯性避开，回避( eschew的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I eschewed upbraiding, I curtailed remonstrance. 我避免责备，少作规劝。 来自辞典例句
• Moreover, she has a business plan, an accessory eschewed by cavalier counterparts. 此外，她还有商业计划，这是彬彬有礼的男设计师们回避的一点。 来自互联网

9 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。

10 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

11 licensing   

v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• A large part of state regulation consists of occupational licensing. 大部分州的管理涉及行业的特许批准。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• That licensing procedures for projects would move faster. 这样的工程批准程序一定会加快。 来自辞典例句