On March 12, Agence France Press reported the news of the death of French fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy, at the age of 91, in his sleep two days earlier. The Givenchy house, from its Twitter account, also mourned the loss of its founder, synthesizing in two the characteristics of his personality: a great exponent of the world of French Haute Couture and a gentleman who symbolized chic and elegant Paris for more than half a century.

It could be said that Hubert de Gyvenchy was the last reference of the golden century generation in Parisian haute couture, from his first collection in 1952, with the famous white Bettina blouse, to his last creations in 1995, when he retired from the Maison Givenchy.

The chic and elegant Paris was reflected, above all, in his icon, Audrey Hepburn, with whom he maintained a friendship of more than 40 years, and for whom he designed practically all the wardrobe of his films. We could say that the epitome of his work was the "llitle black dress" that the actress wore for the first time in the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's", in 1961, and that has become a timeless basic. However, even though it is the most famous black dress of all time, Coco Chanel had previously claimed credit for the invention of this garment.

Born on February 20, 1927 in Beauvais, France, into a family of collectors and art lovers, he had the privilege, as he himself said, of growing up surrounded by beautiful things. His professional vocation as a couturier germinated when he was very young, and at the age of 17 he began working with the French designer Jaques Fath. He then followed his degree program with Elsa Schiaparelli and Lucien Lelong, where he shared a workshop with other greats of the fashion world, then also newcomers: Christian Dior and Pierre Balmain.

For Givenchy, "the secret of elegance was to look like oneself". That elegance, innate in him and that he knew how to transmit in everything he did, also captivated Princess Grace Kelly, the Duchess of Windsor and Jaqueline Kennedy, the first lady of the United States, who chose him to design her silk faille dress that she would wear at the reception of her official visit to the Palace of Versailles (France) in 1961. Givenchy made Kennedy, for a few hours, a member of a European royal house. Her feminine and chic style of the fifties and sixties still enamors today Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and other American and Chinese celebrities.

I had the opportunity to attend to his first retrospective exhibition in Spain at the Thyssen Bornemisza Museum just three years ago. There were more than 100 outfits (from the Bettina blouse to the evening gowns of the 80s, including Audrey Hepburn's), videos of interviews with the couturier, testimonials, etc. Hubert de Givenchy himself was present at the inauguration, in what was possibly his last trip to Spain, to attend the installation and the details of the exhibition.

In addition, ISEM Fashion Business School, collaborated with the University Museum of Navarra, on January 14, 2015, in the organization of the workshop "The Spirit of Givenchy", directed by Professor Amalia Descalzo, which brought together museum curators, art historians, university professors and more than 70 people interested in his figure and his work.

 If I had to define his work, I would use the words he himself used: "The secret of elegance is to look like yourself". That elegance, in his case, in addition to what was innate, was the result of a cultivated spirit and years of constant work . His loss this week leads to vindicate, as he would do, the true meaning of elegance, the return to the search for coherence. The Givenchy house and its creative director, Clare Waight Keller, now part of Arnault's LVMH group , face a major challenge if they want to pay tribute to their founder.

Rest in peace.