To celebrate the new campaign for Parfums Givenchy’s best-selling fragrance, Very Irrésistible Givenchy, Liv Tyler made an appearance at Sephora Times Square to autograph the fragrance and meet fans. Shot by photographer Liz Collins in Paris, the campaign features Tyler as a black, Givenchy-clad ingénue - but with a sense of humor. The fragrance itself is a floral, made up of Grasse jasmine and five roses, including the Liv Tyler Rose.
This year marks the 50 year anniversary of Givenchy fragrances, the result of an original collaboration in 1957 between Hubert de Givenchy and Audrey Hepburn.
"Our first two perfumes, Le De and L’ Interdit,
gave birth to a long line of very beautiful offspring," notes the
maestro. "Fifty years later, I am happy to note how successfully
Parfums Givenchy continues to bring a touch of elegance, pleasure and
sophistication to both women and men. Fragrance is the final touch of
elegance, its ’identity card’...A woman without a fragrance is not
identifiable."
LIke many successful businesses with fairytale endings, this one had humble beginnings: a budget of $6,000, a teensy staff of three, and a single room graciously lent by the house of Balenciaga. More fragrances followed, including Monsieur de Givenchy and Eau de Vetyver for men, the green chypré Givenchy III - a nod to the location of the house at 3, avenue George V - Givenchy Gentleman in 1975, and in 1980, the last fragrance launched by Hubert de Givenchy, Eau de Givenchy.
The fragrance division was purchased in 1983 by Champages Veuve Clicquot, later acquired by LVMH, which launched Ysatis & Xeryus in the 80s, Amarige & Organza (90s), and for the new millenium: Very Irrésistible Givenchy, Givenchy pour Homme, Ange ou Démon, and the Millésimes, reformulations of the house’s great fragrances, each based on a specific flower.
One of the reasons Givenchy's fragrances have done so well is that rather than representing a regular check in the mail from a faceless licensee, they are a fully integrated part of the house. Packaged in artist- & sculptor-designed bottles, the perfumes are feminine & floral, mirroring Givenchy's fondness for flowers & gardens. The bouquet of white flowers present in all the fragrances was inspired by Givenchy's fondess for white, while his beloved velvets & silk organzas are represented in the notes. "It’s a language of love between fragrances and textiles," Givenchy once said.
Fragrances available at Sephora.com & ParfumsGivenchy.com.
- Lesley Scott
(Liv Tyler photo: lovelylivtyler.com)
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