Bettina: The First French Supermodel

Born Simone Micheline Bodin, Bettina was given her moniker by couturier Jacques Fath in the early 1950s. “We already have a Simone,” he told her, “You look to me like a Bettina.”

Bettina was the first French supermodel, playing muse to Fath, as well as a young Hubert de Givenchy, who named his first collection, led by the iconic full-ruffle Bettina blouse, after the redheaded model. She would later inspire Givenchy’...