André Courrèges
André Courrèges (9 March, 1923 - 7 January, 2016) was a French fashion designer. He was most famously known for his haute couture modernist and futurist designs ("Space Age designs"), such as the creation of go-go boots or miniskirts.
Early Life
In 1923, André was born in Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques in France, and grew up wanting to pursue design in art school as a career path. His father, who was a butler, disapproved of this, desiring for him to become an engineer instead. Due to this impact, André attended École Nationale des Ponts-et-Chaussées, graduating as a civil engineer. During WWII, he joined the French Air Force as a pilot.
Career
Career Start (1945 - 1961)
Following the end of WWII, André started working at the Jeanne Lafaurie fashion house[1]. After a few months, he moved to work for Cristóbal Balenciaga[2], where he ended up working for 10 years. Here, he learned to master the cut and construction of garments, which has been argued to be a major influence on his early work[3].
Early Career (1961 - 1963)
In 1961, André Courrèges created his own fashion house, Courrèges. During these years, the designs of this brand were known for being well-tailored suits and dresses. These featured geometric seam lines, clean style lines and knee-length hemlines which were standard for that time[4]. Possibly due to his history with Balenciaga, his garments were very well sculpted for women, while his well-cut trousers started attracting more notice[5][6][7].
By 1963, he began to be known for super simple, geometric and modern designs, as well as trousers and the prevalent use of white (such as the "little white dress")[8][9]. For collection Fall/Winter 1963, his trousers extended in a clean line onto the top of the foot[10][11], while other designers that season showed women's boots in all heights for the first time[12][13]. This established a new norm that would continue in fall collections for at least 15 years. For this year, the garments were often paired with flat, slim boots, ending at mid-calf[14]. These came in different colour variations, but the whites in particular attracted the most attention. Due to the demand of these, they became known as the ""Courrèges boot""[15], and later evolved into the popular go-go boot[16][17][18]. This shape of boots became a staple in his collections throughout the peak of his career.
Peak Career
1964 - 1965
The three shows of 1964 and 1965 are known as probably the most famous collections of André Courrèges, when he reached the peak of his fame and influence on fashion.
They introduced mini-skirts into haute couture, popularised pant-suits, and made the characteristic elements of the 1960's fashion - flat shoes, white boots, metallic silver, and oversized glasses."
References
- ↑ Erik Orsenna (2008). Courrèges (in French). Éditions Xavier Barral. p. 228. ISBN 978-2-915173-27-7.
- ↑ Weil, Martin (9 January 2016). ""Andre Courrèges, 92, French fashion designer known for miniskirt, dies"". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
- ↑ Park, Jennifer (2019). ""Courrèges, André"". In Steele, Valerie (ed.). The Berg Companion to Fashion. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 180. ISBN 978-1-3501-0408-2.
- ↑ Peterson, Patricia (29 July 1963). "Showing by Courreges Hailed in Paris". The New York Times: 13. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
- ↑ Mulvagh, Jane (1988). ""1961"". Vogue History of 20th Century Fashion. London, England: Viking, the Penguin Group. p. 267. ISBN 0-670-80172-0.
Courrèges had broken away from Balenciaga, but his style echoed Balenciaga's clean lines.
- ↑ Gross, Michael (17 January 1986). ""Courrèges: New Venture, Old Optimism"". The New York Times: A18.
The designer places himself in a line of 'pure' design - 'the way of tradition' - that descends from Chanel and Balenciaga. 'I continued the style,' he said. 'I brought something more, but I never destroyed what was behind it'.
- ↑ Walker, Myra (2019). ""Miniskirt"". In Steele, Valerie. The Berg Companion to Fashion. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 512-513. ISBN 978-1-3501-0408-2.
- ↑ Peterson, Patricia (29 July 1963). ""Showing by Courreges Hailed in Paris"". The New York Times: 13. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
He showed white for town, for evening and for country....[H]is extraordinary tweeds were woven with white or shown over white dresses.
- ↑ Mulvagh, Jane (1988). ""1963"". Vogue History of 20th Century Fashion. London, England: Viking, The Penguin Group. p. 276. ISBN 0-670-80172-0.
Courrèges showed white for his winter collection, another indication of the influence of his maestro, Balenciaga.
- ↑ Mulvagh, Jane (1988). ""1963"". Vogue History of 20th Century Fashion. London, England: Viking, The Penguin Group. p. 275. ISBN 0-670-80172-0.
Courrèges's Indian-inspired, leather-thonged tunic coat in ribbed wool jersey, scarfed silk overblouse and narrow, prominently creased trousers breaking over white kid boots.
- ↑ Peterson, Patricia (29 July 1963). ""Showing by Courreges Hailed in Paris"". The New York Times: 13. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
The pants...covered the tops of shoes like spats.
- ↑ Howell, Georgina (1978). ""1963"". In Vogue: Sixty Years of Celebrities and Fashion from British Vogue. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England: Penguin Books Ltd. p. 280. ISBN 0-14-00-4955-X.
'Boots, boots, and more boots are marching up and down like seven leaguers, climbing to new leg lengths.' Every woman who owns a tweed suit is buying a pair of boots, and there are dozens of heights and shapes to choose from.
- ↑ ""Boots Take Over: For Every Weather, Total Chic"", Vogue, p. 46, August 1963
- ↑ Peterson, Patricia (29 July 1963). ""Showing by Courreges Hailed in Paris"". The New York Times: 13. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
...[H]is [boots] were a new length. They hit at mid-calf, like those worn by majorettes. He showed them in glistening white, black reptile and leather...
- ↑ Mulvagh, Jane (1988). ""1963"". Vogue History of 20th Century Fashion. London, England: Viking, The Penguin Group. p. 274. ISBN 0-670-80172-0.
Paris raved about white kidskin boots from Courrèges...
- ↑ O'Keeffe, Linda (2014). ""The Shoe that left an Imprint: The Go-Go Boot"". Shoes: A Celebration of Pumps, Sandals, Slippers & More. Workman Publishing. pp. 338–339. ISBN 978-0761173434.
- ↑ Cumming, Valerie; Cunnington, C. W.; Cunnington, P. E. (2010). The dictionary of fashion history. Oxford: Berg. p. 108. ISBN 9781847887382.
- ↑ O'Hara, Georgina (1986). The encyclopaedia of fashion. New York: H. N. Abrams. p. 79. ISBN 9780810908826.