PARIS — Seated in the stately salon of his hôtel particulier here, surrounded with artwork by Matisse, Picasso, Miró, Nicolas de Staël and Kurt Schwitters, Hubert de Givenchy lives up to every inch of his reputation as the epitome of the aristocratic couturier.
Coffee is served on a silver tray, the books on the table are arranged just so, and Givenchy, 80, a gray sweater draped over his shoulders, talks about his plans for vacation, which this summer include two months sequestered in his château, followed by a jaunt to the Mediterranean island of Sardinia and a yacht excursion in Turkey.
Even though the couturier retired in 1995, his agenda remains full.
“The good Lord doesn’t want me yet,” he joked, adding that he feels better after a couple of health issues earlier in the year.
Still energetic, Givenchy recently agreed to sit on a committee at the Château de Versailles that oversees acquisitions. He also joined a board at the Louvre museum to lend his eye to the renovation of its rooms for 18th-century furniture, a subject about which he has extensive knowledge, having built up his own collection of pieces, which he later sold at Christie’s. For complete coverage, see tomorrow’s issue of WWD