Simone Micheline Bodin
Encyclopedia
Simone Micheline Bodin (1925—), known professionally as Bettina or Bettina Graziani, was a French
fashion model of the 1940s and 1950s and an early muse to the fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy
. She also has been a designer of knitwear and, later, a poet and composer.
, who told her, "We already have a Simone; you look to me like a Bettina." Bodin was invited by Christian Dior
to join his fashion house which she refused, choosing instead to work for Fath.
Bodin became one of the century's first supermodels, rivalled in the Forties only by the "English beauty" Barbara Goalen
. She was associated with Pierre Balmain
, Lucien Lelong
, Jacques Fath, and Christian Dior
, but most importantly with Givenchy, for whom she worked as a model and press agent. Hubert de Givenchy named his first collection, which debuted in 1952, after her; one of its designs, the Byronesque "Bettina" blouse, became a fashion icon in the early 1950s and inspired the bottle for the best-selling Givenchy parfum "Amarige."
After a short marriage to Gilbert "Benno" Graziani, a French photographer and reporter, she became the companion of Peter Viertel
, the American screenwriter. Later she was the fiancée of Prince Aly Khan
, a playboy who briefly was the United Nations
ambassador
from Pakistan
.
She retired from modeling in 1955, after meeting 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 would later result in a miscarriage. After Aly Khan's death, Bettina wrote her memoir, Bettina par Bettina (Paris: Flammarion, 1964).
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
fashion model of the 1940s and 1950s and an early muse to the fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy
Hubert de Givenchy
Count Hubert James Marcel Taffin de Givenchy is a French aristocrat and fashion designer who founded The House of Givenchy in 1952. He is famous for having designed much of the personal and professional wardrobe of Audrey Hepburn, as well as clothing for clients such as Jacqueline Kennedy...
. She also has been a designer of knitwear and, later, a poet and composer.
Biography
Born in France in 1925, Simone Micheline Bodin was described as "a freckle-faced rail worker's daughter from Brittany" before becoming a model. She was renamed and recreated by Jacques FathJacques Fath
Jacques Fath was a French fashion designer who was considered one of the three dominant influences on postwar haute couture, the others being Christian Dior and Pierre Balmain.-Career:The son of André Fath, an Alsatian-Flemish insurance agent, Fath came from a creative family...
, who told her, "We already have a Simone; you look to me like a Bettina." Bodin was invited by Christian Dior
Christian Dior
Christian Dior , was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, also called Christian Dior.-Life:...
to join his fashion house which she refused, choosing instead to work for Fath.
Bodin became one of the century's first supermodels, rivalled in the Forties only by the "English beauty" Barbara Goalen
Barbara Goalen
-Early life:Born in Malaya she attended St Mary's School in England and later studied art, but quit to become a wartime ambulance driver. Her first husband, pilot Ian Goalen, died in a plane crash, and she was a widow with two young children when she became a model at age 25She later said "I didn't...
. She was associated with Pierre Balmain
Pierre Balmain
Pierre Alexandre Claudius Balmain was a French fashion designer. Known for sophistication and elegance, he once said that "dressmaking is the architecture of movement."...
, Lucien Lelong
Lucien Lelong
Lucien Lelong was a French couturier who was prominent from the 1920s to the 1940s.-Career:Born in Paris as the son of Arthur Lelong, the owner of a textile shop, he trained at the Hautes Etudes de Commerciales in Paris and opened his fashion house in the late 1910s...
, Jacques Fath, and Christian Dior
Christian Dior
Christian Dior , was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, also called Christian Dior.-Life:...
, but most importantly with Givenchy, for whom she worked as a model and press agent. Hubert de Givenchy named his first collection, which debuted in 1952, after her; one of its designs, the Byronesque "Bettina" blouse, became a fashion icon in the early 1950s and inspired the bottle for the best-selling Givenchy parfum "Amarige."
After a short marriage to Gilbert "Benno" Graziani, a French photographer and reporter, she became the companion of Peter Viertel
Peter Viertel
Peter Viertel was an author and screenwriter.-Biography:He was born to Jewish parents in Dresden, Germany, the writer and actress Salka Viertel and the writer Berthold Viertel. In 1928, his parents moved to Santa Monica, California where Viertel grew up with his brothers, Hans and Thomas...
, the American screenwriter. Later she was the fiancée of Prince Aly Khan
Prince Aly Khan
Prince Ali Solomone Aga Khan , known as Aly Khan was a son of Aga Khan III, the head of the Ismaili Muslims, and the father of Aga Khan IV. A socialite, racehorse owner and jockey, he was the third husband of actress Rita Hayworth...
, a playboy who briefly was the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
from Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
She retired from modeling in 1955, after meeting 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 would later result in a miscarriage. After Aly Khan's death, Bettina wrote her memoir, Bettina par Bettina (Paris: Flammarion, 1964).