Hubert de Givenchy

From Chanel's Resort 2013 show to all the romantic editorials that have been staged there, the Palace of Versailles is having a moment. And now, Le Grand Divertissement à Versailles — the 1973 fashion face-off between five American designers and five French couturiers — is the subject of the new film Versailles '73: American Runway Revolution.

The event was staged by Eleanor Lambert, creator of Vanity Fair's International Best Dressed List, who invited Halston, Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass, Anne Klein, and Stephen Burrows to represent America. The French team included Yves Saint Laurent, Dior's Marc Bohan, Hubert de Givenchy, Pierre Cardin, and Emanuel Ungaro.

Director Riley Draper said she created the film, which will premiere during New York Fashion Week in September, to remember an evening that had a profound impact on the American fashion and modeling industries.

Riley's research found that the American designers took their positions as underdogs very seriously. "When you look at the documents, they were like, 'We're going to war,'" she said. That may explain their groundbreaking decision to cast black models for their portion of the show.

"To actually have an exhibition with 12 African-American models at one time, in one show, in a palace in France, representing the United States and representing our fashion industry, is legendary — it's historical," said Riley.

The documentary features interviews with some of those models, including Pat Cleveland and Alva Chinn, as well as former Vogue editor Grace Mirabella and several fashion historians. Cameron Silver of the vintage store Decades narrates the film, which Riley screened at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. She'll also screen the film in Los Angeles and Atlanta before bringing it to New York City. A glimpse of the film in the trailer below.

>> Vera Wang was on CNN this morning, weighing in who she hoped designed Kate Middleton's dress; but, now that it's been revealed to be Alexander McQueen's Sarah Burton, how do Burton's other designing colleagues rate the dress? (And one can't help but wonder what Alexander McQueen would have thought of a partnership between his label and Middleton, given that he once famously wrote "I am a c*nt" in the lining of a jacket destined for Prince Charles.) But without further ado . . .

Karl Lagerfeld: “[Middleton] is very elegant. The dress is classic and goes very well in the Westminster decor. It almost reminds me of (Queen) Elizabeth’s wedding, the royal weddings in the '50s. The proportion of the train is good. The lace is very pretty. I like the veil a lot.”

Christian Lacroix: “I like the dress very much, simpler than expected: A combination just in between 1956 Grace Kelly and 1947 Queen Elizabeth dress. I love the modest veil with the Queen Mother’s '30s scroll tiara and balanced volume of the whole gown. She’s radiant; she never was so beautiful. And Prince William’s red Irish uniform is gorgeous.”

Hubert de Givenchy: “The dress is very simple and very nice. The veil is a little flat, but because she has such a lovely face, she can afford to wear it this way. She is very pretty.” 

Peter Copping of Nina Ricci: “Very much in a royal tradition, reminiscent of Queen Elizabeth’s — and a little bit Grace Kelly. She looks happy, radiant, and natural.” 

Donatella Versace: "Kate's dress was beautiful. She looked very regal."

Prabal Gurung: “I thought it was pretty and appropriate. A high-profile wedding like this is not the place for making a crazy fashion moment. It sounds like an oxymoron but it was a personal moment in a very public place. The dress clearly said she’s a modern girl and of this generation. It was not McQueen at its theatrical sense but McQueen in its quiet but beautiful sense. I loved the bustle and how her silk tulle veil was moving softly in the wind.”

Jason Wu: “I thought Catherine’s dress looked stunning. The details were very well done and I loved the emphasis on craftsmanship and the use of British talent. Her choice to pay tribute to Alexander McQueen was both touching and exciting.”

Viktor & Rolf: “Kate’s dress was simply elegant. Her hair down was a beautiful and natural touch, and the tiara was stunning. She looked as at ease as humanly possible and was radiant. Our compliments.”

Diane von Furstenberg: “The dress was beautiful. I think she is irresistible, she is so beautiful. I am happy it was McQueen. It was absolutely the right thing to do. They made [the dress] simple, so it wasn’t costumey but a beautiful evening gown. I was happy for Sarah, happy for the Met, and happy for McQueen."

Tory Burch: “Kate looked stunning. Choosing Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen reflects Kate’s modern aesthetic and style, but the handmade lace details and craftsmanship are a great nod to British tradition. The lace, the clean lines of the dress, Queen Elizabeth’s tiara — every detail was stunning.”

Donna Karan: “The dress was extremely elegant. For me, it wasn’t so much about the dress though, it was all about her. She was the most beautiful bride in the world.”

Francisco Costa: “Kate’s dress had a classic elegance with a modern edge. The superb detailing really characterized Sarah’s expert hand.”

Oscar de la Renta: “She looked absolutely ravishing. She looked like a bride should look and she handled herself tremendously. And they look like a much loving couple. I am happy to see fresh blood coming into the family. It was a very traditional, beautiful dress which it needed to be for that kind of wedding. Most of all she devastated with her charm. Listen, she will wear anything and will look ravishing.”

Valentino: “I loved the dress . . . it was very simple and young even if a hint of Grace Kelly's dress spoke of 1950s! I loved the flounce on the back of the skirt and the little decoration all around the short veil. I loved the choice of the tiara: simple, pretty, very right for the dress and for her attitude . . . it was used almost as an hairpiece to keep the hair and the veil, not as a heavy decoration. Compared to the famous Diana’s dress, Diana’s was a dress of a fairy-tale princess . . . still a dress everybody remembers. Kate’s one is a very pretty, modern dress that will be copied everywhere but lacks that fairy-tale element. Today most of the new princesses are young, modern, nonroyal women who have clear ideas, independence from stiff protocol . . . they want to be themselves and not anymore a symbol of the crown.”

Reed Krakoff: “I thought the dress was very modern. It bridged the gap between modern and youthful, and was respectful to the position she is in. It didn’t look to traditional or expected though. I particularly liked the neckline. It was more youthful than I expected. The fact that the bodice was fitted and formfitting was great, because she is a beautiful young woman and it accentuated that.”

>> Riccardo Tisci Has His Own Version of Audrey Hepburn at Givenchy —"When I see in the press what he does, there's no feeling of the house," Hubert de Givenchy told WWD of Riccardo Tisci in 2007. But Tisci says he and Givenchy have more in common than having designed for the same house: "We're both related to the art world, to celebrity, without being a celebrity. And it's a real relationship. I have what Hubert used to have Audrey [Hepburn]. Mariacarla [Boscono], Lea [T., his fit model], Marina [Abramovic], Courtney [Love], Antony [Hegarty of Antony and the Johnsons] — they're my Audrey." [W]

>> Alexander McQueen, famously outspoken, spoke out in an interview for the Spring 2009 issue of Numero Homme (#17), and started by giving his interviewer, Numero editor at large Philip Utz, and fashion journalism as a whole, a dressing-down: "[it's a] thinly-veiled exercise in marketing."  Then, he moved on to the British Fashion Council — "[it] doesn't know what the f*ck it's doing" — and another one of his favorite subjects to disparage — Hubert de Givenchy.

McQueen was the designer for Givenchy from 1997 to 2001, and upon his installation, he declared Hubert de Givenchy's work "irrevelant"; it seems the years have not softened his opinion: "Well what do you make of Hubert de Givenchy? He was only ever any good at ripping off [Cristobal] Balenciaga."

He saves admiration for a select couple »

>> As funeral services for Yves Saint Laurent near, the list of attendees grows — almost 1,000 guests plan on attending. 

Among the substantial group, YSL's designer peers Valentino, Giorgio Armani, Stefano Pilati, John Galliano, Hubert de Givenchy, Alber Elbaz, Jean Paul Gaultier, Christian Lacroix, Hedi Slimane, Kenzo Takada, Sonia Rykiel and Jean-Louis Scherrer, plus his former muses Catherine Deneuve, Laetitia Casta and Claudia Schiffer, are all expected. 

During the services, which are tomorrow at the Eglise Saint-Roch in Paris, the YSL headquarters and YSL boutiques worldwide will all be closed in memoriam.
*images: source