Bold sans serif used in the somehow strict logotype of storied French fashion House of Givenchy, created in 1952.

Question

Hello everyone,

I am curious about both the name of the typeface and its origin and lineage. Did this style of sans serifs appear out of nowhere during the 20th century or do they have a longer history to them?

Thank you very much for your patience and help.

Answer 1

Like most logos of that era, this is almost certainly custom lettering. I few contemporary typefaces emulate this style. 

Mallory

Decimal

Humanist 970 (a revival of Adsans, issued about the same time as the logo)

Graphie

Comments

This site gives a bit of history on sans serif typefaces.

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Yeah, great link, Kevin. I'm sorry I neglected that part of your question, Fiz. I'd say this design is not very common for the period, but does reflect the Johnston/Gill tradition of geometric sans, albeit wider and with squarer rounds. I'd also read the background info on Decimal which is inspired by engraved watch lettering from the early to mid 20th century.

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Thank you so much.