Dress and jacket of black wool with moire silk pleats, by Hubert de Givenchy, Paris, Fall-Winter 1954.
Made for Leslie Caron to wear on stage in "Orvet," opened in Paris, 12 March 1955.

A dress and matching jacket of black wool, labelled and numbered 7095. The plain fitted wool bodice has three-quarter length sleeves, above the skirt of panelled pleats of wool interspersed with moiré silk. The jacket of black wool has a diagonal buttoned fastening and one side pocket to balance the line of the skirt.

This ensemble was made by Givenchy for Leslie Caron (b. July 1, 1931), the French film actress and dancer. It was made for a play called 'Orvet' by Jean Renoir, who was Miss Caron's great friend and mentor. He wrote it for her, and also directed it. It was first performed a the Theatre de la Renaissance, Paris, on 12 March 1955. Although, made for 'Orvet' the suit is a fine example of Haute Couture construction and finish.

It was sold by Ms. Caron at auction (Kerry Taylor Auctions Ltd, Sotheby's) in 2006.

An original drawing of the suit, done by Marcel Fromenti for The Lady in 1954, shows that this suit was model number 1225 in Givenchy's haute couture Fall-Winter collection of 1954-55. Fromenti has portrayed the black wool suit with exceptional accuracy, capturing the distinctive skirt composed of wide alternating pleats of silk moiré and wool and the small-waisted jacket with off-centre button fastening balanced by a single pocket flap. (see E.1570-1954).

Reason For Production: Commission

This ensemble was designed by the Parisian couturier Hubert de Givenchy (b. 1927) for Leslie Caron (b. 1931), the French film actress and dancer. It was made for a play called 'Orvet' by Jean Renoir, who was Caron's great friend and mentor. He wrote it for her, and also directed it. It was first performed at the Theatre de la Renaissance, Paris, on 12 March 1955.

Although this dress was worn on stage, it is a couture quality creation. The dress and jacket are made from heavyweight wool with moiré silk panels in the skirt, and must have been very warm during the performance.

T.35:1, 2-2006