The model of the moment gets up close and personal with Tatler on her unexpected modelling career, beauty standards and why she is on a continuous search
Early in the morning on a sunny day, we met Suzi de Givenchy in the outskirts of Paris, in a photo studio located in the 16th district. The guest model of Tatler’s December issue fashion shoot showed up in a white shirt, jeans and sneakers—a classic effortless chic French girl look—with a big, contagious smile and a cup of espresso in hand.
“It’s always good to see people who look like me on set, I love the diversity in the crew today”, she said, expressing her joy at seeing many Asian faces in the production team. With the fashion industry embracing models of different ages, sizes and colours in recent years, de Givenchy’s modelling career has seen a meteoric rise. Having only started modelling in the fall of 2019, the now-55-year-old has walked for Off-White, Balenciaga, AZ Factory and Uma Wang, starred in the spring 2023 campaign for couture house Schiaparelli, graced the cover of several magazines and garnered over 600,000 views on YouTube by giving a home tour of her lofty Paris apartment.
Of course, modelling career aside, her famous last name also catches attention. “Some people think I’ve married the couturier [Givenchy founder Hubert de Givenchy]. But no, I did not marry someone [who was almost] 50 years old,” she laughs. “My husband was the nephew and godson to the couturier. They have the same name and that’s why people get confused.”
In fact, de Givenchy was born in Hong Kong and immigrated to the US with her family when she was four. The 20-year-old Suzi met her husband in the City of Love and moved to France where she has since lived for 35 years. “I first met him through a friend. I didn’t even know who Givenchy was. I didn’t really follow fashion or grow up in a family that was into fashion. And of course, afterwards I did. But I had already fallen in love with the person. So that’s the story”, she says.