SUZI de GIVENCHY

For Vogue Singapore’s ‘Renewal’ issue, model and muse Suzi de Givenchy reflects on rebirth and renaissance.

- MAYA MENON

Suzi de Givenchy is in a season of resplendence. Over the past three years, the Hong Kong-born Parisian has walked runways all over the world, poised with a chameleon-like canvas arguably afforded to only the most seasoned models in the business. In her arsenal? A look as striking as it is sui generis: long jet-black hair, elfin bone structure and a genteel yet cool demeanour. At Off-White, de Givenchy embodied the late Virgil Abloh’s take on political streetwear; at Maison Rabih Kayrouz, she amplified a glamorously serious take on oversized suiting, and at Lemaire, she carried a sophisticated softness. Despite a heavy-hitting repertoire, however, de Givenchy is sparing with the word ‘model’. So sparing, in fact, that before all else, she calls herself a daydreamer.

At the age of four, de Givenchy and her family left Hong Kong for New York City. Raised by a single immigrant mother of four, 55-year-old de Givenchy recounts a simple yet pleasant childhood. “Young Suzi was skinny, insecure and tall for a Chinese girl, but paradoxically, she was happy and optimistic as well,” she shares. Modelling was a world far off in the distance, and fashion, even more so. “Needless to say, fashion was not a huge priority in our home. We got hand-me-downs from our church and we would mix and match whatever came out of those magical bags. You should have seen some of those ’70s pattern mixes.”