André Courrèges
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André Courrèges (; 9 March 1923 – 7 January 2016) was a French
fashion design Fashion design is the art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction, and natural beauty to clothing and its accessories. It is influenced by diverse cultures and different trends and has varied over time and place. "A fashion design ...
er. He was particularly known for his streamlined 1960s designs influenced by
modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
and
futurism Futurism ( ) was an Art movement, artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such as the ...
, exploiting modern technology and new fabrics. Courrèges defined the
go-go boot Go-go boots are a low-heeled style of women's fashion boot first introduced in the mid-1960s. The original go-go boots, as defined by André Courrèges in 1964, were white, low-heeled, and mid-calf in height, a specific style which is sometimes ...
and along with
Mary Quant Dame Barbara Mary Quant (11 February 1930 – 13 April 2023) was a British fashion designer and icon. She became an instrumental figure in the 1960s London-based Mod and youth fashion movements, and played a prominent role in London's Swingi ...
, is one of the designers credited with inventing the
miniskirt A miniskirt (or mini-skirt, mini skirt, or mini) is a skirt with its hemline well above the knees, generally at mid-thigh level, normally no longer than below the buttocks; and a dress with such a hemline is called a minidress or a miniskirt ...
. He founded the
Courrèges Courrèges () is a French prêt-à-porter fashion house that was founded by French fashion designers André Courrèges and his at the time partner (and later wife) Coqueline Courrèges in 1961 as a couture house. Fashion house Courrèges was l ...
fashion house alongside his wife
Coqueline Courrèges Coqueline Courrèges (born Jacqueline Barrière, July 25, 1935) is a French dressmaker and co-founder of the Courrèges fashion house. Biography Coqueline Courrèges was born Jacqueline Barrière on July 25, 1935, in Hendaye, France. She arri ...
.


Early life

Courrèges was born in the city of Pau within the Bearnese region of the
Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...
. He wanted to pursue design in art school but his father, a butler, disapproved of his passion as he wanted him to be an engineer. Courrèges attended École Nationale des Ponts-et-Chaussées (École des ponts ParisTech). During World War II, he became a pilot for the
French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the air force, air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the Fr ...
.


Career


Early beginnings

In 1945, at 22, after studying to be a
civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...
, Courrèges went to Paris to work at the
fashion house Fashion design is the art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction, and natural beauty to clothing and its accessories. It is influenced by diverse cultures and different trends and has varied over time and place. "A fashion design ...
Jeanne Lafaurie. A few months later, he went to work for
Cristóbal Balenciaga Cristóbal Balenciaga Eizaguirre (; ; 21 January 1895 – 23 March 1972) was a Spanish fashion designer, and the founder of the Balenciaga clothing brand. He had a reputation as a couturier of uncompromising standards and was referred to as "th ...
. Courrèges worked for Balenciaga for 10 years mastering the cut and construction of garments.


''Courrèges''


1961-63

In 1961, Courrèges launched his own fashion house. For the first couple of years of its existence, Courrèges was known for well-tailored suits and dresses with geometric seaming, clean lines, and the standard knee-length hemlines of the time, somewhat like
Pierre Cardin Pierre Cardin (born Pietro Costante Cardin; 2 July 1922 – 29 December 2020) was an Italian-born naturalised-French fashion designer. He is known for what were his avant-garde style and Space Age designs. He preferred geometry, geometric shap ...
of the period. His superbly cut trousers also attracted notice. His designs' style was shaped by Balenciaga, with garments that were well sculpted for women. His clientele were mature and conservative women with high disposable income. In 1963, he began to be known for extremely simple, geometric, modern designs, trousers for women, and a predilection for white, including the "little white dress." His slim fall 1963 trousers extended in a clean line onto the top of the foot. Designers that season showed women's boots of all heights for the first time, establishing a norm that would continue in autumn collections for at least the next fifteen years. Courrèges's clothes for 1963 were often paired with flat, slim-shafted boots to the lower calf. The white versions attracted particular attention and became known as the Courrèges boot, which evolved into the popular
go-go boot Go-go boots are a low-heeled style of women's fashion boot first introduced in the mid-1960s. The original go-go boots, as defined by André Courrèges in 1964, were white, low-heeled, and mid-calf in height, a specific style which is sometimes ...
. Boots of this shape would be a staple of his collections for the next two years.


1964-65

Courrèges would reach a peak of fame and influence with his three 1964 and '65 collections, and it is these collections for which he is most remembered.They introduced miniskirts to the haute couture, popularized pantsuits, and made flat shoes, white boots, metallic silver, and oversized glasses characteristic elements of 1960s fashion. They were still strictly haute couture collections, but they conveyed the futuristic Space Age pulse of the time with spare, adroitly tailored clothes that simultaneously gave women a sense of freedom and suggested deeper societal changes.With these collections, Courrèges intended to overcome the uncomfortable artifice that had dominated women's fashion during the 1950s.He promoted a new body type that he felt was more in line with modern women's lives. These collections were so transformative that some fashion writers compared them to
Christian Dior Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer and founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Dior, Christian Dior SE. His fashion house is known all around the world, having gained promi ...
's 1947 Corolle collection in importance. Their influence would extend through about 1967, touching everyone from top hairdresser
Vidal Sassoon Vidal Sassoon (17 January 1928 – 9 May 2012) was a British hairstylist and businessman. He was noted for repopularising a simple, close-cut geometric hairstyle called the five-point cut, worn by famous fashion designers including Mary Quant ...
to
Coco Chanel Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel ( , ; 19 August 1883 – 10 January 1971) was a French fashion designer and Businessperson, businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post-World War I era with populari ...
, who showed her first pantsuits a few months after Courrèges introduced them to the couture in 1964. Ultra-modern US designer
Rudi Gernreich Rudolf "Rudi" Gernreich (August 8, 1922 April 21, 1985) was an Austrian people, Austrian-born American fashion designer whose avant-garde clothing designs are generally regarded as the most innovative and dynamic fashion of the 1960s. He purposef ...
was moved to shorten his skirts to mini length after seeing Courrèges's 1964 work, and both designers were early advocates of bralessness. The designer perhaps most obviously influenced was fellow
Balenciaga Balenciaga SA ( , , ) is a Spanish Basque luxury fashion house currently headquartered in Paris. It designs, manufactures and markets ready-to-wear footwear, handbags, and accessories, and licenses its name and branding to the American cosmeti ...
protegé
Emanuel Ungaro Emanuel Ungaro (13 February 1933 – 21 December 2019) was a French fashion designer who founded his eponymous fashion house in 1965. Early life Ungaro's Italian father fled to France from Francavilla Fontana of Brindisi province because of t ...
.During this period, Courrèges cited architects
Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , ; ), was a Swiss-French architectural designer, painter, urban planner and writer, who was one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture ...
and
Eero Saarinen Eero Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1910 – September 1, 1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer who created a wide array of innovative designs for buildings and monuments, including the General Motors Technical Center; the pa ...
and artist
Wassily Kandinsky Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky ( â€“ 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter and art theorist. Kandinsky is generally credited as one of the pioneers of abstract art, abstraction in western art. Born in Moscow, he spent his childhood in ...
as inspirations. While revolutionary in the ways described, these collections were a continuation of longstanding trends toward less constricting fit that had begun in the 1950s, as well as reflecting youthful trends emanating from the UK. Courrèges's short skirts, braless torsos, waistless dresses, flat shoes, and trousers during this period were indeed freeing for women, but the clothes also continued the 1950s tendency to impose an artificial silhouette on the body via strong, 1950s-style tailoring that some described as stiff, rigid, and soldierly.


Spring 1964

His spring 1964 collection continued to feature his distinctive boots, popularized pantsuits, and brought above-the-knee skirts to Paris haute couture for the first time. White dominated the collection. He presented simple, slightly flaring chemise dresses that hit above the knee, well above the knee when paired with his signature calf-high boots. The previous season, fall 1963, almost all designers had shown boots of various heights, but for spring of '64, Courrèges was the only designer to include boots. Their characteristic narrow cut and perfect proportions continued to win praise from the fashion press. Low-heeled pumps were also shown. His trouser outfits attracted the most attention, launching the pantsuit trend that would change societal norms during the decade. This season, his pants remained narrow but were set on the hip, creased in front, and slit over the instep to maintain a clean, unbroken line. They were paired with simple, well-tailored, geometric-looking coats, jackets, and tunics featuring prominent buttons, low-set martingales, and the pocket flaps that would become one of Courrèges's signature design details. Coats were seven-eighths length. He showed his day clothes with large, tall, mostly brimless, Space Age-looking hats. His trouser emphasis extended into evening, when he also incorporated a lot of bare skin with uncovered backs and openwork lace. These clothes were presented in a traditional, dignified salon showing with classical music and floral perfume.


Fall 1964

His autumn 1964 collection advanced the fashion industry with modern, futuristic designs that were unheard of during the time.Trousers dominated the showing, slit over the instep like those he had shown the previous season but with a slightly narrower cut and pronounced creases in front and back.The collection included tailored coats, jackets, and tunics, which were paired with trousers or his version of the miniskirt. "He paired his shorter skirts with white or colored leather, calf-high boots that added a confident flair to the ensemble. This look became one of the most important fashion developments of the decade and was widely copied." His familiar short, geometric shift dresses were marked with a characteristic small sleeve. Coats were narrow. Jackets were longer and had deeper vents than previously. Some were marked with a hip seam. The clothes held their shape via precise tailoring and fabrics of substantial body, many double-faced, with a great deal of gabardine. He showed no regular shoes for fall '64, only boots. The boots were the same height and shape as those he'd been showing since 1963 but with pleatingor vertical stitching at the top of the shaft. As in his previous collections, the white kid ones were the most popular, but he also offered them in patent finishes, suede, lizard, and vinyl of various colors, as well as evening versions of silver sequins or ribbon-trimmed pink satin, part of an increased emphasis on evening clothes in the collection. His evening dresses were as short as his day dresses, but evening trousers dominated. Evening styles could have accents of Space Age silver, metallic pink, metallic green, and other colors, all combined with and dominated by Courrèges's signature stark white, the sheen provided by ciré finishes, lamé, sequins, geometric paillettes, and vinyl. Bareness continued to be a feature, especially in eveningclothes, where midriffs and backs were often on display. The presentation included a model getting dressed from a state of near nudity. Starting with this collection, models dressing and undressing onstage would be a mainstay of Courrèges shows that would last into the early 1970s. The most talked-about hats from the collection were helmet-like squared-off bonnets that matched the clothes and tied in the middle of the chin with a stiff geometric bow. Smaller, tightlytailored hats set on the crown of the head were also shown. Short, white gloves were included with almost everything. The models used by Courrèges this season were famously slim, muscular, and very tanned, striding out to the beat of drums.


Spring 1965

He continued with his spare, futuristic autumn 1964 styles into spring of 1965, when he shortened his skirts even more and opened the toes of his signature calf-high white boots. His spring 1965 collection also included flat Mary Jane shoes, a style that would become a mainstay for the designer through the end of the decade. His spring 1965 versions had the same open toes as the boots and featured a bow on the instep strap. Some of the boots also had a wraparound horizontal cutout near the top of the shaft, suggesting an absent ribbon. The open toe on this footwear was not the shaped, contoured hole usually seen on open-toed pumps but what looked like a straight lopping off of the front of the foot piece or as if the front of the toe piece hadn't been sewn down to the sole but had just been left open, the toes hidden beneath but receiving air from the open end. Other accessories included opaque white glasses with a slightly curved horizontal slit for vision; short white gloves; low, narrow hip-belts; band-edged, squared-off, cowboy- and mortarboard-looking hats with chin straps; and striped scarves to match outfits. The collection was still largely white, but included more colors, including pastels, brights, navy blue, and black, as well as some plaids and stripes. Some jackets were lined in large, graphic stripes. He made prominent use of graphic banding for emphasis, including along the inseams of trousers. His trousers this season sat lower on the hip and were no longer slit over the foot. Pockets were now mere horizontal slits, often outlined in the same color as the banding. He showed a lone pair of jodhpurs in yellow-and-white plaid. His new shorter skirts were given the most emphasis this time, still carefully tailored to a geometric trapeze shape in minimal, sleeveless or short-sleeved shift dresses, many with small, rolled, stand-away collars and lapels. Necklines could be round or square. Coats were similar but with long sleeves. Many of the jackets were of a simple waist length, establishing a style that would become characteristic of his collections into the 1970s. Most waistlines this season were dropped to hip level and marked with a thin belt. New this season were suspender dresses/suspender skirts, miniskirts with suspender-like extensions over the shoulders. These suspender skirts were often in wide horizontal stripes with matching coats or jackets and worn with sleeveless or minimally sleeved white tops. Suits were double- or single-breasted. Eveningwear was in the same shapes as daywear but with sections made to shimmer with solid coverings of tiny sequins. This season's runway strip scene involved a pink wool suit being removed to reveal Courrèges undergarments consisting of sleeveless top, hip-slung short shorts, and calf-high socks, all in a transparent fabric embroidered with white dots. This spring 1965 collection built on the reputation of the previous two collections to achieve an astounding level of influence. Controversy over who created the idea for the miniskirt revolves around Courrèges and
Mary Quant Dame Barbara Mary Quant (11 February 1930 – 13 April 2023) was a British fashion designer and icon. She became an instrumental figure in the 1960s London-based Mod and youth fashion movements, and played a prominent role in London's Swingi ...
. Courrèges explicitly claimed to have invented it, accusing his London rival to the claim, Quant, of merely "commercialising" it. Courrèges presented short skirts (four inches above the knee) in January 1965 for that year's Spring/Summer collection. He had presented "above-the-knee" skirts in the previous year, with his August 1964 haute couture presentation proclaimed the "best show seen so far" for that season by ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''.
Valerie Steele Valerie Fahnestock Steele (born 1955) is an American fashion historian, curator, and director of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Steele has written more than eight books on the history of fashion, and can be regarded as one of ...
has stated that Courrèges was designing short skirts as early as 1961, although she champions Quant's claim to have created the miniskirt first as being more convincingly supported by evidence. Others, such as Jess Cartner-Morley of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' explicitly credit Courrèges with having invented the miniskirt. ''The Independent'' also stated that "Courreges was the inventor of the miniskirt: at least in his eyes and those of the French fashion fraternity ... The argument came down to high fashion vs street fashion and to France versus Britain – there's no conclusive evidence either way." British ''Vogue'' considered John Bates the true inventor of the miniskirt, rather than Courrèges or Quant.Garments worn by Marit Allen
at the
Victoria & Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...
, London. Accessed 15 March 2010
Courrèges's favoured materials included
plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...
s such as vinyl and stretch fabrics like
Lycra Spandex, Lycra, or elastane is a synthetic fiber known for its exceptional elasticity (physics), elasticity. It is a polyether-polyurea copolymer that was invented in 1958 by chemist Joseph Shivers at DuPont. Name The name ''spandex'', which ...
. While he preferred white and silver, he often used flashes of citrus colour, and the predominantly white designs in his August 1964 show were tempered with touches of his signature clear pink, a "bright stinging" green, various shades of brown from dark to pale, and poppy red. Alongside short skirts, Courrèges was renowned for his trouser suits, cut-out backs and midriffs, all designed for a new type of athletic, active young woman. Steele has described Courrèges's work as a "brilliant couture version of youth fashion." One of Courrèges's most distinctive looks, a knit
bodystocking A bodystocking or body stocking is a one-piece skin-tight garment that covers the torso, legs and sometimes the arms of the wearer. It is a foundation garment or an article of lingerie usually made from a sheer fabric similar to that used for s ...
with a
gabardine Gabardine Gabardine is a durable twill worsted wool. It is a tightly woven waterproof fabric and is used to make outerwear and various other garments, such as suit (clothing), suits, overcoats, trousers, uniforms, and windbreakers. Thomas Bur ...
miniskirt slung around the hips, was widely copied and plagiarised, much to his chagrin, and it would be 1967 before he again held a press showing for his work.


1965-66 Hiatus

Disturbed by the uncontrolled copying of his fall 1964 and spring 1965 lines, Courrèges declined to present a fall 1965 collection and wouldn't show again until 1967. He produced no collections for fall 1965, spring 1966, or fall 1966, though he did make a few garments for private clients. He was bothered especially by the low quality of the copies he'd seen, feeling that the average woman was being denied high quality because of shoddy imitations. He also became concerned about affordability, resolving to create a lower-priced ready-to-wear line so that more people could have access to his work. Like a number of particularly young designers of the time, he began to see haute couture, with its multiple fittings and high cost, as outdated and out of step with modern women's lives and with economic realities. He spent his time trying to secure manufacturers who could produce high-quality, lower-cost garments for a new ready-to-wear line that Courrèges would call Couture Future, to be sold in a new boutique downstairs from his couture salon, which was being moved from Kleber Avenue to François I Street in Paris, enabled by backing from French beauty concern
l'Oréal L'Oréal S.A. () is a French multinational personal care corporation registered in Paris
.


1967-71

In February 1967, Courrèges resumed his couture showings after a year and ahalf of not producing collections. The same month, he introduced a ready-to-wear line to be sold in a new boutique downstairs from his Paris couture salon, which had moved from Kleber Avenue to François I Street. He referred to his ready-to-wear line as Couture Future and would initially only sell it at his flagship boutique, not debuting new ready-to-wear styles via fashion shows but instead adding new styles continuously to the boutique stock. The following year, he began presenting his ready-to-wear line mixed in with his couture garments in a single fashion show each season. While the new ready-to-wear line would be roughly a quarter the price of his couture garments and thus accessible to more women, it was still costly. His 1967 through '71 collections looked very different from the 1964-65 clothes that had brought him fame. Skirts were still mini length – even more so,in fact;shoes were still flat;and there was still a lot of whiteand a futuristic look to everything, but lines were now more rounded and curvilinear,there was more color,and there was less stiffness.Observers described the new clothes as softer, "sweeter," and more "girlish" than his famous 1964-65 creations.Dress and coat shapes were now most often of an A-line, paper doll-like silhouette that flared from the ribcage to a mini or micromini hem. There was now even more of a child-like look than there had been when he showed baby bonnet-looking headgear in 1964, as he presented occasional infant-style rompersand his models painted big freckles on their facesand wore their hair in little girl-style ponytails on either side of the head. Courrèges continued to favor short hair, showing geometric-looking, blunt-cut, chin-length, crayon-vivid Dynel wigs from 1968 to 1970. He used more medium-build and rounded models than the slim, tanned, athletic models he had famously used for his shows in 1964 and '65,now having them smileand dance onstage,usually to percussive jazz music,instead of striding soberly, a feature that he would maintain until 1973. Diagnostic of this 1967 to '71 period for Courrèges was an emphasis on jumpsuits instead of pantsuits.Notable were ribknit bodystockings/jumpsuits, some footless, some with feet, that he referred to as catsuits.He intended these ribbed bodystockings/catsuits to be the basis of a dress scheme, a background for his other garments.For summer, they were offered in shorts lengths.The use of tights and bodystockings as background garments was a trend of the time that fit well with Courrèges's emphasis on functionality in dress. As with his pre-hiatus collections, he used lots of welt seaming and geometric construction.There was continuity also in his 1967-71 inclusion of waist-length jackets, which he had debuted in 1965 but now cut somewhat more like jean jackets in both short-sleeve and long-sleeved styles, a style he would present well into the 1970s. He also showed waist-length capes. From 1967 to '69, he scalloped the edges of many of his garments, as had
Cardin Cardin is a surname. A branch of a family called Cardin then Cardim in Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal proceeds from Kingdom of England, England, from where came Rubel or Robert Cardin then Roberto Cardim, whom it is supposed to have been part of th ...
in the mid-sixties, giving them a slightly frilly appearance that still managed to look geometric.He favored flower motifs in 1967-68, somewhat similar to
Mary Quant Dame Barbara Mary Quant (11 February 1930 – 13 April 2023) was a British fashion designer and icon. She became an instrumental figure in the 1960s London-based Mod and youth fashion movements, and played a prominent role in London's Swingi ...
's trademark use of daisies and paralleling the emphasis on flowers in the era's
youth culture Youth culture refers to the societal norms of children, adolescents, and young adults. Specifically, it comprises the processes and symbolic systems that are shared by the youth and are distinct from those of adults in the community. An emphasis ...
. Courrèges was one of a group of designers (
Rudi Gernreich Rudolf "Rudi" Gernreich (August 8, 1922 April 21, 1985) was an Austrian people, Austrian-born American fashion designer whose avant-garde clothing designs are generally regarded as the most innovative and dynamic fashion of the 1960s. He purposef ...
,
Paco Rabanne Francisco Rabaneda Cuervo (18 February 1934 – 3 February 2023), more commonly known under the pseudonym of Paco Rabanne (; ), was a Spanish-born naturalised-French fashion designer. Rabanne rose to prominence as an ''enfant terrible'' of ...
,
Emanuel Ungaro Emanuel Ungaro (13 February 1933 – 21 December 2019) was a French fashion designer who founded his eponymous fashion house in 1965. Early life Ungaro's Italian father fled to France from Francavilla Fontana of Brindisi province because of t ...
, etc) in the late sixties who rejected moves toward ethnic, hippie, and revival styles, which they referred to as nostalgic,and continued to show futuristic designs in almost exclusively mini and micromini lengths. Courrèges's expressions of this tendency included continued use of stark white; circular and curvilinear geometry;lots of zippers, tabs,and snaps;and prominent use of plasticand vinyl,though traditional fabrics of more substantial body like wools and cottons still made up the bulk of his textiles. In addition to vinyl, he used leather, especially for coats, some of which were wet-look shiny. 1970 saw Courrèges using leather and patent leather accents in the form of piping and banding, including on his knit bodystockings/catsuits and on his knee socks. That year, it was unclear to fashion-watchers whether the mini-favoring modernists would prevail or the midi-pushing nostalgics, and Courrèges, Gernreich, et al were briefly focused on as potential leaders again, as they had been in the mid-sixties. Courrèges added a few longer skirt lengths beginning in 1969, when he showed some calf-length evening dresses that were just extended versions of his shorter dress shapes.His spring 1969 collection also featured solid metal microminis with matching metal breastbands that were as futuristic as but very different than the well known 1966-67
Paco Rabanne Francisco Rabaneda Cuervo (18 February 1934 – 3 February 2023), more commonly known under the pseudonym of Paco Rabanne (; ), was a Spanish-born naturalised-French fashion designer. Rabanne rose to prominence as an ''enfant terrible'' of ...
trapeze minidresses that had consisted of separate small plates of metal.In 1970, the year the fashion world tried to impose calf-length hemlines on everyone, Courrèges included knee lengths, calf lengths, and ankle lengths in both his daywear and eveningwear,though minis and microminis still dominated his offerings. Courrèges's main pant styles of this period also followed the trends of the time, starting off with his signature long, sleek trousersbut expanding into flaredand even hiphugger bellbottom styles by the end of the period, particularly in 1968-70.He also showed lower-thigh-length shorts styles.He reflected the era's ethnic trends somewhat when in 1967 he included a jumpsuit with harem legsand when in 1969 he showed a few pairs of full, knee-length pants that he called knickers, a trouser trend of the time, but his were full enough to look like bloomers, zouaves, or cossack pants.He showed short shorts under maxicoats and maxidresses when the hot pants trend peaked in 1971. It was at the end of the 1960s that Courrèges really maximized his use of cutouts, placing circular cutouts in the center of the chest, the center of the stomach, on the sides, or down the legs that allowed the ribknit bodystocking or bare skin to show beneath. This was a trend that had been more widespread during Courrèges's hiatus year of 1966, when
Pierre Cardin Pierre Cardin (born Pietro Costante Cardin; 2 July 1922 – 29 December 2020) was an Italian-born naturalised-French fashion designer. He is known for what were his avant-garde style and Space Age designs. He preferred geometry, geometric shap ...
may have been its biggest proponent, but it continued to be seen among Space Age designers like Courrèges and
Ungaro Ungaro is a surname, meaning 'of Hungarian people, Hungarian descent/origin'. Notable people with the surname include: * Emanuel Ungaro (19332019), French fashion designer * Gaetano Ungaro (born 1987, Reggio Calabria), Italian professional football ...
.The trend toward bareness and nudity of the time was also acknowledged by Courrèges in see-through fabrics, runway toplessness, and backs so low they revealed the derrière, as well as more traditional devices like plunging surplice and keyhole necklines. In 1971, he introduced a bare cut to some of his tops that resembled the top of overalls, with an open-sided front panel and loose straps over the shoulders, a style he would continue to show through the mid-seventies. His boots from 1967 to 1970 were still completely flat, but now mostly knee-high and fitted, in the dominant style of the time, very different from the 1963-65 boot style that had made him famous. In 1970, he showed some boots with fuller shafts, as boot trends were moving in that direction in the new decade.The other footwear he showed in this 1967-71 period continued to be the flat Mary Janes that he had first included in 1965,sometimes referred to as slippers.These boots and Mary Janes would change design details from season to season, broad and round-toed one season,squared the next,trimmed in metal the next,and even with light-up plastic accents in 1970.For summer, he favored knee socks more than boots, with sheer ones for evening, also showing them for fall,and he included some over-the-knee stockings. During this period, he made playful, futuristic, oversized eyewear a characteristic element of his shows, creating lenses that looked like huge cartoon eyes (1969) or huge eyelids edged in cartoonish eyelashes (1970). In 1968, he introduced his first purse designs to his ready-to-wear line, and in 1969 his first swimsuits. In 1970, a second, even lower-priced ready-to-wear line was added called Hyperbole, as Courrèges continued to be concerned about the accessibility of his work. He would still maintain his made-to-order haute couture line, officially renaming it Prototypes in 1971. In 1967 Courrèges married Coqueline Barrière, his design assistant. They had met while working together at Balenciaga, and worked together as a husband and wife team for the rest of his life.


1972-79

In 1968 Courrèges sold a share of his company to
L'Oréal L'Oréal S.A. () is a French multinational personal care corporation registered in Paris
in order to finance his expansion, which, by 1972, included 125 boutiques around the world. That year, Courrèges was commissioned to design staff uniforms for the Munich Olympics. He began offering menswear in 1973. He also developed fragrances such as Empreinte, Courrèges Homme, Eau de Courrèges, Courrèges Blue, Sweet Courrèges, and Generation Courrèges. His womenswear from 1972 through '79 conformed to some extent to the trends of the time, but he remained devoted to shorter hems than most and to continued use of plastic, metallic silver, and white during this era of longer skirts, natural fibers, and earthtones. The question in the year 1970 of whether ethnic, nostalgic looks or geometric, modern/futuristic looks would prevail had been answered, as longer lengths, ethnic/gypsy/peasant influences, quiet classics, and sturdy workwear like blue jeans became the norm. Courrèges adapted to this new environment by lengthening his shortest daytime skirts to just above the knee (which was considered mini-length by the mid-seventies), including a few knee-covering day lengths (just below the knee in 1974, to the calf in 1977), softening his silhouette via some fuller cuts, reflecting trends in trouser shape by showing flared pants in the early seventies and pegged pants toward the end of the period, employing layering, incorporating some softer colors, and accessorizing with soft berets, mufflers, and some boots that had the deep-toned, luggage-quality leather look of the high-fashion boots of the time. During the mid-seventies, he even gave up his health-based adherence to flat shoes and began showing high heels. His 1967-71 focus on a knit bodystocking-based dress scheme was gone by the end of 1972. Updated versions of his longstandingwaist-length jackets continued as versatile items throughout his collections. Though softening and increased color had also been part of his 1967-71 direction, fashion writers seemed to forget about that and instead compared his 1970s work only to his 1964-65 peak-of-fame collections, writing as though he had abruptly gone from the angular tailoring and geometric shapes of his 1964-65 lines to the fuller, softer garments he was showing in the 1970s. His fashion shows changed during this period. They were still showy spectacles with lots of dancing in 1972, but the dancing was gone by the end of 1973, and the shows were more subdued by the end of the decade. He continued to present his haute couture and ready-to-wear lines together in a single show each season. In 1972, he followed
Pierre Cardin Pierre Cardin (born Pietro Costante Cardin; 2 July 1922 – 29 December 2020) was an Italian-born naturalised-French fashion designer. He is known for what were his avant-garde style and Space Age designs. He preferred geometry, geometric shap ...
,
Valentino Valentino may refer to People * Valentino (surname), including a list of people with the name * Valentino (given name), including a list of people with the name Mononymous persons * Valentino (fashion designer) (born Valentino Clemente Ludovic ...
, and some others in placing his logo visibly on many of his garments, most notably sweaters, which quickly became status symbols and profitable mainstays of his output. He said that the initials AC stood not for his name alone but for André and Coqueline, his partner. In 1978, he changed to putting only his name, spelled out, on the outside of his clothes instead.As a designer who continued to favor short skirts, Courrèges easily segued into designing tenniswear as that sport increased in popularity during the decade. At the same time, he always included a few pieces that harkened back to his mid-sixties apex, like white shift dresses, garments with contrasting band edging, and calf-high white boots, now in different cuts than in his mid-sixties heyday. His continued prominent use of plastic, vinyl, metallic silver, zippers, snaps, and large, unusual-looking plastic eyewear gained him a reputation as something of an eccentric, as did an unexpected new development from him: extravagant evening gowns in his couture line. Some of these evening gowns were actual ballgownswith enormous skirts, considered anachronistic during the very casual, minimally constructed 1970s, a time when the most formal evening dresses were usually sedate-colored, understated, spaghetti-strap slipdresses (impressive versions of which Courrèges also produced at the time)and many women wore trousers and jeans even for dressy occasions. Fellow former Space Age designer
Pierre Cardin Pierre Cardin (born Pietro Costante Cardin; 2 July 1922 – 29 December 2020) was an Italian-born naturalised-French fashion designer. He is known for what were his avant-garde style and Space Age designs. He preferred geometry, geometric shap ...
indulged in similar individualistic experimentation during this period. Courrèges's ballgownswere in both full-skirted shapes and more experimental silhouettes and incorporated a lot of plastic, large stiff ruffles, and even hoops. His attempt to reflect the period's blouson trend in a multi-level, bloused, sequin-trimmed evening creation of complex construction was particularly notable. As fashion trends of the time moved toward blousy, voluminous, even oversized shapes and most designers' bareness came to involve things like blouses sliding off the shoulder, unbuttoned tops, and open-mesh fabrics in loose shapes, Courrèges showed through 1975 the open-sided bib-front top cuts with loose shoulder straps that he had debuted in 1971. He also continued to present short shorts for both day and evening, long after the 1971 peak of interest in hot pants. By 1979, his skirt hems were almost all at the knee. In 1978 and '79, signs appeared among the avant-garde and then mainstream designers of a sixties revival, and Courrèges reintroduced some of his most famous styles from the mid-sixties, adding more primary color for interest. At the end of the 1970s, Courrèges signed licensing agreements for lines of several garments, from shoes to towels.


1980+

In early 1983, Courrèges worked with the Japanese motor company
Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...
to design special editions of their TACT motor scooter. By 2005, Itokin held the Japanese
ready-to-wear Ready-to-wear (RTW)also called ''prêt-à-porter'', or off-the-rack or off-the-peg in casual useis the term for garments sold in finished condition in standardized sizes, as distinct from made-to-measure or bespoke clothing tailored to a partic ...
license for the Courrèges brand, with a retail value of €50 million. By this point, Coqueline Courrèges had succeeded her husband as artistic director for the brand, Courrèges having retired in 1995 following their successful reclamation of the brand in 1994 despite several ownership changes. In 1984 Courrèges designed the
Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French automobile brand owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was established in 1810, making it the oldest car company in the world. On 20 November 1858, Émile Peugeot applie ...
"Courrèges" bicycle, a limited edition model in two colourways – pale blue, and white with pink colour pops, and with matching panniers, chain guard, handlebar grips and mudguards, with Sturmey-Archer hub gears. In 2011, André and Coqueline Courrèges sold the Courrèges brand for more than 10 million euros ($13.05 million) to two
Young & Rubicam VMLY&R was an American marketing and Marketing communications, communications company specializing in advertising, Digital media, digital and social media, sales promotion, direct marketing and brand identity consulting, formed from the 2020 mer ...
advertising executives, Jacques Bungert and Frédéric Torloting.Alexandria Sage (24 January 2012)
French brand Courreges takes retro fashion online
'
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
''.
By 2012, total revenue for the brand was about 20 million euros. In 2014, Groupe Artemis, the personal investment vehicle of
François-Henri Pinault François-Henri Pinault (; born 28 May 1962) is a French businessman, the son of billionaire François Pinault. François-Henri took the reins of his father's retail conglomerate Pinault-Printemps-Redoute in 2005, and turned it into the luxury ...
, purchased a minority stake in Courrège. In 2018 Groupe Artemis became the majority shareholder of the brand. Nicholas di Felice was appointed creative director in September 2020, and has been credited with revitalizing the brand and bringing it back to relevance.


Space design

Courrège's Spring 1964 collection established his impact on the fashion industry and named him the Space Age designer. The line consisted of "architecturally-sculpted, double-breasted coats with contrasting trim, well-tailored, sleeveless or short-sleeved minidresses with dropped waistlines and detailed welt seaming, and tunics worn with hipster pants". A notable look was the linear minidresses with revolutionary tailoring with cut-out panels that displayed waists, midriffs and backs. Courrège had strong beliefs within the liberation of fashion. He emphasized that "A woman's body must be hard and free, not soft and harnessed. The harness – the girdle and bra – is the chain of the slave." Which is why his cut-out panel garments were worn without bras. Accessories were inspired by astronauts' equipment such as goggles, helmets and flat boots. White and metallic colour ways were implemented to emphasise the futuristic collection. He utilised unconventional materials such as metal, plastic and
PVC Polyvinyl chloride (alternatively: poly(vinyl chloride), colloquial: vinyl or polyvinyl; abbreviated: PVC) is the world's third-most widely produced synthetic polymer of plastic (after polyethylene and polypropylene). About 40 million tons o ...
which was unusual for couture ateliers. The entire collection was celebrated with British ''Vogue'' announced that 1964 was "the year of Courrèges". ''The
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' described him as "the brightest blaze of the year" to emphasise the change from the little black dress to the white dress. Designers such as
Pierre Cardin Pierre Cardin (born Pietro Costante Cardin; 2 July 1922 – 29 December 2020) was an Italian-born naturalised-French fashion designer. He is known for what were his avant-garde style and Space Age designs. He preferred geometry, geometric shap ...
and
Paco Rabanne Francisco Rabaneda Cuervo (18 February 1934 – 3 February 2023), more commonly known under the pseudonym of Paco Rabanne (; ), was a Spanish-born naturalised-French fashion designer. Rabanne rose to prominence as an ''enfant terrible'' of ...
took influences towards "future" fashion looks. With new popularity, his designs trickled down to mass production companies that created affordable designs similar to Courrèges.


Later life and death

Courrèges suffered from
Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...
for the last 30 years of his life. He died on 7 January 2016 aged 92, in
Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; 'Neuilly-on-Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is an urban Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department just west of Paris in France. Immediately adjacent to the city, north of the ...
outside Paris and was survived by his wife and their daughter. His death was published in notable media outlets and many designers went to celebrate his life online. President
François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. Before his presidency, he was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), First Secretary of th ...
went to Twitter to say, "A revolutionary designer, André Courrèges made his mark on haute couture using geometric shapes and new materials." Courrèges was a designer who looked to the future. He predicted the idea of healthy living and toned bodies through his book in 1982.
Carla Sozzani Carla Sozzani (born 1947) is an Italian book and magazine editor, gallerist, and businesswoman. She founded the Galleria Carla Sozzani in 1989 and is the creator of 10 Corso Como, an art and fashion establishment in Milan. Early life and educati ...
, the owner of
10 Corso Como 10 Corso Como is a shopping and dining complex in Milan, Italy with international locations in Tokyo, Seoul, and Shanghai. It combines outlets that show and sell works of art, fashion, music, design, cuisine and culture. It was founded in 1990 by ...
stated that, "It changed the concept of couture, marking the turn of fashion into a new era."


References


External links


Official website for moral and patrimonial rights
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Courreges, Andre 1923 births 2016 deaths Deaths from Parkinson's disease in France French fashion designers Modernist designers People from Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques Shoe designers French World War II pilots