Born 1925 as Simone Micheline Bodin, French fashion model Bettina Graziani was invited by Christian Dior to join his fashion house which she refused, choosing instead to work for Jacques Fath.
Bettina Graziani in the early 1950s
Bettina became one of the century’s first supermodels, rivalled in the 1940s only by Barbara Goalen. She was associated with Lucien Lelong and Jacques Fath, but most importantly with Hubert de Givenchy, for whom she worked as a model and press agent. Givenchy named his first collection, which debuted in 1952, after her. One of his designs, the Byronesque “Bettina blouse”, became a fashion icon in the early 1950s and inspired the bottle for the best-selling Givenchy perfume Amarige.
Bettina retired from modeling in 1955 after meeting Prince Aly Khan. In 1960, Bettina, then pregnant with their child, survived the car accident that took the life of the prince; the shock of the accident later resulted in a miscarriage. After Khan’s death, Bettina wrote the autobiography Bettina par Bettina. She died at age 89 in 2015.
Take a look at these stunning photos to see portraits of a young Bettina Graziani in the early 1950s.
Bettina in Pierre Balmain design, photo by Henry Clarke, Album de Figaro, 1950
Bettina in Fath’s organdy evening dress with fern embroidery by Lesage, photo by Willy Maywald, spring 1950
Bettina in brick-red wool jacket lined in purple, worn over black hooded sweater and black gabardine pants, by Manguin, photo by Pottier, 1950
Bettina in a Jacques Fath ball gown fit for a queen, 1950
Bettina in day dress by Jacques Fath, photo by Willy Maywald, Place des Vosges, Paris, 1950
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