Hubert de Givenchy had a loyal following in the U.S., including leading socialites such as Bunny Mellon, Babe Paley and Deeda Blair. But one of his most famous American clients was also the most secretive: Jacqueline Kennedy.

Her sister Lee Radziwill first introduced Kennedy to the French couturier, who started dressing her when she was still a journalist. She was pictured wearing Givenchy designs during her husband John F. Kennedy’s Senate campaign in 1958, with the designer playing a decisive role in shaping her public image.

But after JFK was elected president in 1960 and Jackie Kennedy became first lady, she was under pressure to wear American labels, forcing her to keep her Givenchy habit under wraps. 

Jean-Noël Liaut, author of a Givenchy biography, said Kennedy used to snip out the labels of her Givenchy clothes with nail scissors to smuggle them back to the White House. Officially, the first lady’s outfits were designed by Oleg Cassini and Norman Norell, with Givenchy later accusing Cassini of wrongly claiming credit for some of his creations.

She may have fooled the American public, but not WWD. In an article titled “The Kennedy-Paris Controversy,” published during the U.S. presidential couple’s visit to France in 1961, the paper declared the jig was up: Kennedy wore a Givenchy design to a dinner hosted by French President Charles de Gaulle at the Palace of Versailles.

“WWD for months has reported Mrs. Kennedy ordering Paris clothes. Now the ice has been broken. The First Lady might well wear what she wants,” it said.

“It’s been a fashion cloak and dagger game for months,” it continued. “Pamela Turnure, the First Lady’s press secretary, at a last-minute briefing, admitted the Givenchy all-embroidered dress which Women’s Wear Daily first mentioned was no longer top secret. Givenchy himself was sworn to secrecy — but the light in his eyes told the story anyway.”

In fact, Givenchy had created a full wardrobe for Kennedy’s visit to France, including the pink coat on display as part of Comité Colbert’s “Hidden Treasures, 250 Years of Franco-American Luxury Stories” exhibition in New York City. Out of loyalty to Kennedy, he only revealed the extent of his involvement decades later. 

“The American people felt emotion for Jackie, but they preferred to have an American couturier design her dresses when they came to France for a state visit. Jackie asked for more than 10 or 15 pieces, saying, ‘I don’t know if I can be dressed by a French designer.’ We did all the fittings in secret,” Givenchy told French news magazine Paris Match in 2017. 

Underlining her close bond with the designer, Kennedy would go on to wear a black wool Givenchy suit to her husband’s funeral in 1963. In an interview with French Elle in 1994, Givenchy paid tribute to her charisma.

“I retain the image of a woman full of grace, elegance and kindness,” he said. “She was an ambassadress of American charm and beauty.”