James de Givenchy
Born and raised in France, Givenchy grew up in Beauvais, a small town in the suburbs of Paris where the Parfums Givenchy has its factory and where his Father, Jean Claude Taffin de Givenchy and his uncle, Hubert James Marcel Taffin De Givenchy, the famous fashion designer , were born. James is one of 7 children born from the union of Patricia Taffin de Givenchy and Jean Claude Taffin de Givenchy.
James de Givenchy moved to New York in the early 1980s. After getting a degree in Fine Arts from Manhattanville College and an associate degree in graphic design from F.I.T. in New York City James joined Christie's auction house where he ultimately ran the West Coast Jewelry Department in Los Angeles between 1991 and 1994. He left the auction world to work for the jewelry house of Verdura and then started his own jewelry concern in Manhattan in 1996. Givenchy has been compared in the press to jewelry designers Fulco di Verdura Givenchy has cited Suzanne Belperron, Rene Boivin and Jeanne Toussaint as key influences. Although the vocabulary he uses in his work is influenced by Art Deco and Retro motifs, the result is definitely contemporary. Taffin pieces are usually one of kind and have been featured in multiple fashion magazines. In 2003, Givenchy's jewelry was exhibited at the Long Beach Museum of Art in 2003. He also received a Stars of Design Award in 2008 for his work in the field of jewelry design. In 2009, Taffin launched a limited edition series of men’s wristwatches which have been featured in Men's Vogue. In June 2008, James de Givenchy was named creative director for Sotheby's Diamonds. Unlike the designs in his colorful and whimsical Taffin collection, the clean, yet sophisticated alloy forms Givenchy has crafted for Sotheby’s Diamonds echo the aesthetic of the Bauhaus movement.