The handsome, aristocratic Hubert de Givenchy blended the hallowed traditions of haute couture with a modern sensibility. For 40 years he focused always on purity of line, but combined an artist's eye with a keen entrepreneurial mind.

His innovative 1952 debut collection made its mark by presenting separates, then a little-known approach to fashion. Givenchy created the most unrepentantly glamorous of evening dresses, developed the influential 'chemise' dress without a waistline, and fielded debonair little daytime suits which have never gone out of fashion. He is also credited with pioneering the princess silhouette, and his name became forever linked with the Sabrina neckline after dressing Hepburn in the eponymous film.

Vogue, the international fashion bible, has charted the careers of designers through the decades. Its unique archive of photographs, taken by the leading photographers of the day from Cecil Beaton to Mario Testino, and original illustrations, together with its stable of highly respected fashion writers, make Vogue the most authoritative and prestigious source of reference on fashion. With a circulation of over 160,000 and a readership of over 1,400,000, no brand is better positioned to present a library on the great fashion designers of the modern age.