Suzi de Givenchy has pulled off the uplifting feat of breaking through as a modelling sensation in her 50s. The Hong Kong-born, New York-raised, Paris-based model only started modelling in 2019, when Versae Vanni, booking director of Next Model Management, suggested it to her; at first, she thought he was joking. Since then, she’s ridden the wave of the western fashion industry’s belated recent embrace of greater diversity in both age and ethnicity, something for which she also campaigns.

De Givenchy’s famous family name comes from her husband, an interior designer nephew and godson of legendary couturier Hubert de Givenchy. She moved to France aged 20 after going there for a birthday trip, and met her husband, commenting recently that she didn’t even know who Givenchy was at the time, not having ever been a follower of fashion. She has since lived in France for 35 years, raising three sons there.

Her husband passed away in 2016, after which she began her second act. Her first job was for Off-White, which she admits she hadn’t heard of at the time. She has since walked for the likes of Balenciaga, in its first show for over half a century, which she found particularly meaningful, given that founder Cristóbal Balenciaga was a mentor to her legendary in-law; as well as for Dries Van Noten AZ Factory and Uma Wang. She also starred in the spring 2023 campaign for couture house Schiaparelli and has graced the cover of several magazines.