The New York Times — A Gala Preview for Givenchy Retrospective

When Hubert de Givenchy was told 30 years ago in Paris that an actress named Hepburn wanted him to make some clothes for her, he was elated: he thought it was Katharine Hepburn. When the woman arrived, she turned out to be a tall, skinny wraith named Audrey, who had scored a big success in ''Roman Holiday'' and wanted him to design some clothes for her next film, ''Sabrina.'' ''She wore tight pants and a little T-shirt, and I was so disappointed she wasn't Katharine,'' the designer recalled. ''I said I had no time - I was in the middle of making my second collection, and I didn't have too many workers then. But we had dinner that night, and before the dinner was over I told her, 'I'll do anything for you.' '' They have been linked as client and couturier and as friends ever since. Last night, at the finale of the showing of Givenchy's current couture collection at the Fashion Institute of Technology, the program called for the eight dancers on the stage to part, and Miss Hepburn and Mr. Givenchy to move to the front together, she in a black satin one-shoulder dress he had just completed for her. 30th Anniversary Celebration The showing was part of the celebration of his 30th anniversary as the head of his own couture house. Before the show in the school's Haft Auditorium, close to 1,000 people were invited for a reception across the street in the Shirley Goodman Resource Center. The guests nibbled on seafood hors d'oeuvres in one room and on French and American cheeses in another. In between, they sipped Champagne and previewed the exhibition of Givenchy clothes that will be open to the public, starting at 10 A.M. today and continuing for six months, at no charge. ''We expect a lot of traffic,'' said Shirley Goodman, executive director of the Educational Foundation for the Fashion Industries, which sponsored the event. The school's resource center was named for her. Continue reading the main story Mrs. Goodman had first proposed the idea of the exhibit to Mr. Givenchy nine months ago. ''Our aim in our exhibits is to present the best in fashion to our students and the fashion community,'' she explained. ''We wanted Givenchy because of the credibility of his work - we didn't know it was his 30th anniversary.'' ''She told me the only other living designer they had shown was Galanos,'' the designer recalled. ''I was surprised, touched and honored.'' Givenchy had never celebrated any anniversary before, but he made up his mind to cooperate fully with this one. He got in touch with customers, asking them to send him any of his old dresses that they still owned. Some 300 styles were submitted by, among others, the Duchess of Windsor, Jacqueline Onassis and Princess Caroline of Monaco, who sent a white dress he had made for her when she was 3 years old. About a third of the styles appear in the retrospective. Sometimes new versions of an old style are displayed because Mr. Givenchy, in going through his records and photographs, came upon ideas he thought could be reinterpreted. So next to a black silk bubble dress from 1953 is a similar style from his last collection in dotted linen. In 1957, he introduced the chemise at the same time as Cristobal Balenciaga and helped change the course of fashion. The shallow rectangular neckline he made for Miss Hepburn just after they met became a generic term, the Sabrina neckline. And he has done clothes for all her succeeding films except costume pictures such as ''War and Peace.'' ''Her measurements haven't changed at all,'' he said. Among the notable fashions on display is the embroidered white dress Jacqueline Kennedy wore in 1961 when she met President Charles de Gaulle at Versailles. ''She said he admired it,'' the designer recalled. ''He said she looked like a Watteau.'' A black coat that belongs to the Duchess of Windsor has special meaning for Mr. Givenchy. ''She said she needed a black coat, and I made it in one night,'' the designer said. White Blouse With Black Ruffles A white cotton blouse with black embroidered ruffles from his first collection, which brought him instant acclaim, is also on display. Like many of his styles over the last three decades, it could be worn today. The Duchess of Windsor has been ill for some time and could not attend, but other Givenchy fans who paid $300 to help him celebrate his anniversary were Lynn Wyatt, Betsy Bloomingdale, Deeda Blair, Estee Lauder, Chessy Rayner, Bunny Mellon, Arlette Brisson, Mildred Hilson, Sao Schlumberger, Mica Ertegun, Tina Chow, Cecile Zilkha, Judy Peabody, Evangeline Gouletas-Carey, Fran Stark and Simone Levitt. Sixty-five cases of Veuve Cliquot Champagne were contributed, the Levitt Foundation paid for the Peter Duchin Orchestra, and Givenchy designed the tablecloths and napkins in tiny floral prints. The designer also provided the gifts for each guest: scarves that commemorate the school and Givenchy. Designers and members of the fashion industry on the guest list included Diana Vreeland, Adele Simpson, James Galanos, Jerry Silverman, Shannon Rodgers, Pauline Trigere, Michaele Vollbracht, Jeffrey Banks and Philippe Venet. As a result of the many contributions, some $200,000 was collected for the school's scholarship fund, the largest sum ever, Mrs. Goodman said. Mr. Givenchy was very happy to do his part since, as he pointed out, about 70 percent of his customers are American. Many of them have been with him almost from the beginning. He inherited another group when his friend and mentor, the late Balenciaga, closed his couture shop in 1968. ''Cristobal took Bunny Mellon by the hand and brought her to my salon,'' he recalled. Other women came because Balenciaga insisted he hire his best fitters. ''Clients become very attached to the fitter who they feel understands them,'' Mr. Givenchy said. ''I'm so touched that they saved the clothes,'' he continued, adding that it was easier to find the cocktail and evening styles than the day clothes. ''I like to think they wore them out,'' he said.