André Courrèges dies at 92

[Aizanara]

French designer André Courrèges poses among his models wearing part of his 1976 Spring/Summer haute couture collection.
Photo: STAFF / AFP / Getty Images

Remembering André Courrèges

André Courrèges, the French couturier and industry legend, passed away yesterday at the age of 92 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. As the founder and catalyst of the space-age fashion movement in the ’60s, Courrèges was one of fashion’s most revolutionary figures, responsible for liberating women from the strict, über-feminine silhouettes of the ’50s in favor of miniskirts, peekaboo A-line dresses, and his infamous white ankle boots.

His career began in 1950 at Balenciaga, where he worked under the house’s founder for 11 years. It was at Balenciaga where he also met Coqueline Barrière, his wife and creative collaborator for the rest of his life. (The “AC” in the brand’s logo actually stands for “André and Coqueline,” not “André Courrèges.”) Together, they founded the Courrèges haute couture maison in 1961, expanding into ready-to-wear several years later. By 1965, Courrèges had risen to international fame for his forward-thinking modern designs.

The breadth of Courrèges’s contributions to fashion is immense. Together with his contemporaries Paco Rabanne and Pierre Cardin, he changed the look of the ’60s, turning boxy shapes, thigh-grazing lengths, and bold accessories into must-haves for go-go girls of the era. He is credited as the founder of the miniskirt (an accolade he shares with Mary Quant), though he was also one of the first designers to put women in pants and utilize bodysuits as a “second skin.” He may also be the only designer to dress both Jacqueline Kennedy and Miley Cyrus—the former having been a dedicated client in the ’60s, along with Catherine Deneuve, Brigitte Bardot, and Françoise Hardy, while the latter wore several Courrèges pieces to host MTV’s Video Music Awards in 2015.

In addition to designing clothing, Courrèges also produced iconic accessories and perfumes, all part of his vision for a new modern lifestyle. Though he left his namesake brand in the ’90s, he continued to watch over it from his home in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. Today, his legacy is being carried on by creative directors Sebastien Vaillant and Arnaud Meyer, who presented their first collection for the brand for Spring 2016. Co-presidents of Courrèges, Frédéric Torloting and Jacques Bungert released the below statement, translated from French: “All his life, André Courrèges, with Coqueline, continued to advance, invent, and stay ahead of the curve: [He was] a visionary designer who saw, in advance, what the 21st century would be and who believed in progress. This is what makes Courrèges so modern today. We are thinking of his family, with whom we are very close.”

Relive Courrèges’s legacy in the pages of Vogue here.

vogue.com

 

[Phuel]

Thanks for the post Aizanara.

A lost to fashiondom, no doubt.

His label deserves so much more than what it is currently. Hopefully one day soon that magical combination of the right backers and right talent will resurrect the label to its former glory.

 

[MulletProof]

Rest in peace ...

I'd let his label rest with him. What people create and when it somehow captures the needs of a generation and creates a precedent and pattern for others to continue while absorbing their own experiences... should be part of documented human creation (needs, fantasies, etc), pretty much what it is, fashion history anyone wanting a clue has to study. I get fashion is business and art and a few more.. surprises, but even shipping and tobacco companies have taken different shapes... and then of course nobody's painting for Dalí or singing for The Beatles. Fashion needs to learn how to let go. I get we are talking about some people needing a job.. but that's nothing new. If people wanting to create were less sheltered by the sole existence of an ancient fashion house somewhere potentially able to employ them someday should solo projects fall apart, there would be more uncertainty, and more creativity.

 

[Phuel]

Just like the McQueen label should have been respectfully put to rest instead of reliving this Groundhog Day that it is, we know that’s not going to happen now with Courreges, don’t we? The fashion world has never been that respectful to anyone LOL

There’s so much cache and loaded potential to profit from his name for the backer-carrions out there, that no way will they let the name fade into fashion history.

It’s already resurrected, just with such tepid results. I’m feeling particularly hopeful this new year, so here’s hoping that despite a great lost to high fashion, something exciting will develop for this label and for Andre’s legacy.

(BTW, the model’s face on the left… LOL)

 

[MulletProof]

^ haha, had I tried modeling...

I think someone with such a legacy as him hardly fades into history.. I don't know, now isn't that too optimistic, esp. in a field with severe mental lagoons. His social contributions is made though (not a real revolution but not the spork either..), most people just leave belongings behind.

 

[Phuel]

LOL Say it ain’t so, Mullet! I always envision you as a tall drink’s version of a young Martha Plimpton trekking through the scorching LA streets in some Branquino cape, maybe topless and square-shouldered, unfazed by the heat and humidity…

Oh of course now’s not quite the time to be an optimist…. those mental lagoons are only multiplying! Still, so much mediocrity all around: Photographers, editors, directors, designers and models. I’d like to hope that someone is willing to hold on to such a great name a little longer and give it the freshness Andre deserves. I was going through the inaugural issue of US Harper’s relaunch— you know the one. And it had an ad for Givenchy tucked away towards the end— in all its mid-range department store glory, complete with catalogue photography. Courreges has never fell to such lows, as Givenchy, YSL and Dior (Homme) had. And yes, Courreges will never fade into fashion history, you’re right— but I'm hopeful it will still have its place in the current fashionscape. Maybe Branquino will yet save the day.