André Courrèges
Template:Short description Template:Over-quotation Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox fashion designer André Courrèges ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}; 9 March 1923 – 7 January 2016) was a French fashion designer. He was particularly known for his streamlined 1960s designs influenced by modernism and futurism, exploiting modern technology and new fabrics. Courrèges defined the go-go boot and along with Mary Quant, is one of the designers credited with inventing the miniskirt. He founded the Courrèges fashion house alongside his wife Coqueline Courrèges.
Early lifeEdit
Courrèges was born in the city of Pau within the Bearnese region of the Pyrenees.<ref name="South China Morning Post">Template:Cite news</ref> 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).<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref> During World War II, he became a pilot for the French Air Force.<ref name="Friedman 2016">Template:Cite news</ref>
CareerEdit
Early beginningsEdit
In 1945, at 22, after studying to be a civil engineer, Courrèges went to Paris to work at the fashion house Jeanne Lafaurie.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> A few months later, he went to work for Cristóbal Balenciaga.<ref name=washobit/> Courrèges worked for Balenciaga for 10 years mastering the cut and construction of garments.<ref name="steelebergac">Template:Cite book</ref>
CourrègesEdit
1961-63Edit
In 1961, Courrèges launched his own fashion house.<ref name=washobit>Template:Cite news</ref> For the first couple of years of its existence, Courrèges was known for well-tailored suits and dresses with geometric seaming, clean lines,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and the standard knee-length hemlines of the time,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> somewhat like Pierre Cardin of the period. His superbly cut trousers also attracted notice.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> His designs' style was shaped by Balenciaga, with garments that were well sculpted for women.<ref name="steelebergmini">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
His clientele were mature and conservative women with high disposable income.Template:Citation needed
In 1963, he began to be known for extremely simple, geometric, modern designs, trousers for women, and a predilection for white,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> including the "little white dress."<ref name=washobit/> His slim fall 1963 trousers extended in a clean line onto the top of the foot.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Designers that season showed women's boots of all heights for the first time,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The white versions attracted particular attention and became known as the Courrèges boot,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> which evolved into the popular go-go boot.<ref name=lok>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=ohara>Template:Cite book</ref> Boots of this shape would be a staple of his collections for the next two years.
1964-65Edit
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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>They introduced miniskirts to the haute couture, popularized pantsuits, and made flat shoes,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> white boots, metallic silver, and oversized glasses<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> characteristic elements of 1960s fashion.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> They were still strictly haute couture collections, but they conveyed the futuristic Space Age pulse of the time with spare,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> adroitly tailored clothes that simultaneously gave women a sense of freedom and suggested deeper societal changes.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>With these collections, Courrèges intended to overcome the uncomfortable artifice that had dominated women's fashion during the 1950s.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>He promoted a new body type that he felt was more in line with modern women's lives.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> These collections were so transformative<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> that some fashion writers compared them to Christian Dior's 1947 Corolle collection in importance.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Their influence would extend through about 1967,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> touching everyone from top hairdresser Vidal Sassoon<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> to Coco Chanel, who showed her first pantsuits a few months after Courrèges introduced them to the couture in 1964.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Ultra-modern US designer Rudi Gernreich was moved to shorten his skirts to mini length after seeing Courrèges's 1964 work,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and both designers were early advocates of bralessness.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The designer perhaps most obviously influenced was fellow Balenciaga protegé Emanuel Ungaro.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>During this period, Courrèges cited architects Le Corbusier and Eero Saarinen and artist Wassily Kandinsky as inspirations.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
While revolutionary in the ways described, these collections were a continuation of longstanding trends toward less constricting fit that had begun in the 1950s,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> as well as reflecting youthful trends emanating from the UK.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> via strong, 1950s-style tailoring<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> that some described as stiff,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> rigid,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and soldierly.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Spring 1964Edit
His spring 1964 collection continued to feature his distinctive boots, popularized pantsuits,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and brought above-the-knee skirts to Paris haute couture for the first time. White dominated the collection.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> He presented simple, slightly flaring chemise dresses that hit above the knee, well above the knee when paired with his signature calf-high boots.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Low-heeled pumps were also shown. His trouser outfits attracted the most attention,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> launching the pantsuit trend that would change societal norms during the decade.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Coats were seven-eighths length.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He showed his day clothes with large, tall, mostly brimless, Space Age-looking hats.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> His trouser emphasis extended into evening, when he also incorporated a lot of bare skin with uncovered backs<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and openwork lace.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> These clothes were presented in a traditional, dignified salon showing with classical music and floral perfume.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Fall 1964Edit
His autumn 1964 collection advanced the fashion industry with modern, futuristic designs that were unheard of during the time.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>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."<ref name="steelebergmini"/> His familiar short, geometric shift dresses were marked with a characteristic small sleeve.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Coats were narrow. Jackets were longer and had deeper vents than previously. Some were marked with a hip seam.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The clothes held their shape via precise tailoring and fabrics of substantial body, many double-faced, with a great deal of gabardine.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He showed no regular shoes for fall '64, only boots.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> as well as evening versions of silver sequins<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> or ribbon-trimmed pink satin,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> part of an increased emphasis on evening clothes in the collection.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> His evening dresses were as short as his day dresses,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> but evening trousers dominated.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> lamé, sequins,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> geometric paillettes,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and vinyl.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Starting with this collection, models dressing and undressing onstage would be a mainstay of Courrèges shows that would last into the early 1970s.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Spring 1965Edit
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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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;<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> short white gloves; low, narrow hip-belts; band-edged, squared-off, cowboy- and mortarboard-looking hats with chin straps;<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and striped scarves to match outfits.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The collection was still largely white,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> but included more colors, including pastels, brights,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> navy blue, and black, as well as some plaids and stripes.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Some jackets were lined in large, graphic stripes.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> He made prominent use of graphic banding for emphasis,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> including along the inseams of trousers.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> His trousers this season sat lower on the hip and were no longer slit over the foot.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Pockets were now mere horizontal slits, often outlined in the same color as the banding.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> He showed a lone pair of jodhpurs in yellow-and-white plaid.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Necklines could be round or square.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Coats were similar but with long sleeves.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Many of the jackets were of a simple waist length, establishing a style that would become characteristic of his collections into the 1970s.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Most waistlines this season were dropped to hip level and marked with a thin belt.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Suits were double- or single-breasted.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Eveningwear was in the same shapes as daywear but with sections made to shimmer with solid coverings of tiny sequins.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> This spring 1965 collection built on the reputation of the previous two collections to achieve an astounding level of influence.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Controversy over who created the idea for the miniskirt revolves around Courrèges and Mary Quant. Courrèges explicitly claimed to have invented it, accusing his London rival to the claim, Quant, of merely "commercialising" it.<ref name=steele>Template:Cite book</ref> Courrèges presented short skirts (four inches above the knee) in January 1965 for that year's Spring/Summer collection.<ref name=polanc>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref name=peterson>Template:Cite news</ref> Valerie Steele 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.<ref name=steele/> Others, such as Jess Cartner-Morley of The Guardian explicitly credit Courrèges with having invented the miniskirt.<ref name=jess>Template:Cite news</ref> 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."<ref name="South China Morning Post"/> British Vogue considered John Bates the true inventor of the miniskirt, rather than Courrèges or Quant.<ref name="marit">Garments worn by Marit Allen at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London. Accessed 15 March 2010</ref>
Courrèges's favoured materials included plastics such as vinyl and stretch fabrics like Lycra.<ref name=washobit/> While he preferred white and silver, he often used flashes of citrus colour,<ref name=nyobit/> 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.<ref name=peterson/>
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.<ref name=polanc/> Steele has described Courrèges's work as a "brilliant couture version of youth fashion."<ref name=steele/> One of Courrèges's most distinctive looks, a knit bodystocking with a gabardine 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.<ref name=polanc/>
1965-66 HiatusEdit
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,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> spring 1966, or fall 1966,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> though he did make a few garments for private clients.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Like a number of particularly young designers of the time,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1967-71Edit
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,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The following year, he began presenting his ready-to-wear line mixed in with his couture garments in a single fashion show each season.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> While the new ready-to-wear line would be roughly a quarter the price of his couture garments and thus accessible to more women,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> it was still costly.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
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;<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>shoes were still flat;<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>and there was still a lot of white<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>and a futuristic look to everything, but lines were now more rounded and curvilinear,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>there was more color,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>and there was less stiffness.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>Observers described the new clothes as softer, "sweeter," and more "girlish" than his famous 1964-65 creations.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>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 rompers<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>and his models painted big freckles on their faces<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>and wore their hair in little girl-style ponytails on either side of the head. Courrèges continued to favor short hair,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> showing geometric-looking, blunt-cut, chin-length, crayon-vivid Dynel wigs from 1968 to 1970.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
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,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>now having them smile<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>and dance onstage,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>usually to percussive jazz music,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Notable were ribknit bodystockings/jumpsuits, some footless, some with feet, that he referred to as catsuits.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>He intended these ribbed bodystockings/catsuits to be the basis of a dress scheme, a background for his other garments.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>For summer, they were offered in shorts lengths.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>The use of tights and bodystockings as background garments was a trend of the time<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>There was continuity also in his 1967-71 inclusion of waist-length jackets,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> From 1967 to '69, he scalloped the edges of many of his garments, as had Cardin in the mid-sixties, <ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> giving them a slightly frilly appearance that still managed to look geometric.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>He favored flower motifs in 1967-68, somewhat similar to Mary Quant's trademark use of daisies and paralleling the emphasis on flowers in the era's youth culture.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Courrèges was one of a group of designers (Rudi Gernreich, Paco Rabanne, Emanuel Ungaro, etc) in the late sixties who rejected moves toward ethnic, hippie, and revival styles, which they referred to as nostalgic,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>and continued to show futuristic designs in almost exclusively mini and micromini lengths.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Courrèges's expressions of this tendency included continued use of stark white; circular and curvilinear geometry;<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>lots of zippers, tabs,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>and snaps;<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>and prominent use of plastic<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>and vinyl,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>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,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and on his knee socks.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>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 trapeze minidresses that had consisted of separate small plates of metal.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>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,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>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 trousers<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>but expanding into flared<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>and even hiphugger bellbottom styles by the end of the period, particularly in 1968-70.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>He also showed lower-thigh-length shorts styles.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>He reflected the era's ethnic trends somewhat when in 1967 he included a jumpsuit with harem legs<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>and 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>He showed short shorts under maxicoats and maxidresses when the hot pants trend peaked in 1971.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> This was a trend that had been more widespread during Courrèges's hiatus year of 1966, when Pierre Cardin may have been its biggest proponent,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> but it continued to be seen among Space Age designers like Courrèges and Ungaro.The trend toward bareness and nudity of the time was also acknowledged by Courrèges in see-through fabrics,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> runway toplessness,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and backs so low they revealed the derrière,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> as well as more traditional devices like plunging surplice and keyhole necklines.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>sometimes referred to as slippers.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>These boots and Mary Janes would change design details from season to season, broad and round-toed one season,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>squared the next,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>trimmed in metal the next,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>and even with light-up plastic accents in 1970.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>For summer, he favored knee socks more than boots,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> with sheer ones for evening, also showing them for fall,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>and he included some over-the-knee stockings.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
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).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In 1968, he introduced his first purse designs to his ready-to-wear line,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and in 1969 his first swimsuits.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> He would still maintain his made-to-order haute couture line, officially renaming it Prototypes in 1971.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
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.<ref name=nyobit/>
1972-79Edit
In 1968 Courrèges sold a share of his company to L'Oréal 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.<ref name=nyobit/> He began offering menswear in 1973.<ref name=nyobit/> He also developed fragrances such as Empreinte, Courrèges Homme, Eau de Courrèges, Courrèges Blue, Sweet Courrèges, and Generation Courrèges.<ref name=":0" />
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<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and to continued use of plastic, metallic silver, and white during this era of longer skirts,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> natural fibers,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and earthtones. The question in the year 1970 of whether ethnic, nostalgic looks or geometric, modern/futuristic looks would prevail had been answered,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> as longer lengths, ethnic/gypsy/peasant influences,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> quiet classics,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and sturdy workwear like blue jeans became the norm.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
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),<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> including a few knee-covering day lengths (just below the knee in 1974,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> to the calf in 1977),<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> softening his silhouette via some fuller cuts,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> reflecting trends in trouser shape by showing flared pants in the early seventies and pegged pants toward the end of the period,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> employing layering,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> incorporating some softer colors,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and accessorizing with soft berets,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> mufflers, and some boots that had the deep-toned, luggage-quality leather look of the high-fashion boots of the time.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
His fashion shows changed during this period. They were still showy spectacles with lots of dancing in 1972,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> but the dancing was gone by the end of 1973,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
In 1972, he followed Pierre Cardin, Valentino, and some others in placing his logo visibly on many of his garments,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> most notably sweaters, which quickly became status symbols and profitable mainstays of his output.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> He said that the initials AC stood not for his name alone but for André and Coqueline, his partner.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In 1978, he changed to putting only his name, spelled out, on the outside of his clothes instead.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>As a designer who continued to favor short skirts, Courrèges easily segued into designing tenniswear as that sport increased in popularity during the decade.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
At the same time, he always included a few pieces that harkened back to his mid-sixties apex,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> like white shift dresses,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> garments with contrasting band edging, and calf-high white boots,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> now in different cuts than in his mid-sixties heyday. His continued prominent use of plastic,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> vinyl,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> metallic silver,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> zippers,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> snaps, and large, unusual-looking plastic eyewear<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> gained him a reputation as something of an eccentric,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> as did an unexpected new development from him: extravagant evening gowns in his couture line.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Some of these evening gowns were actual ballgownswith enormous skirts,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> considered anachronistic during the very casual, minimally constructed 1970s,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>and many women wore trousers and jeans even for dressy occasions.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Fellow former Space Age designer Pierre Cardin indulged in similar individualistic experimentation during this period.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Courrèges's ballgownswere in both full-skirted shapes<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and more experimental silhouettes and incorporated a lot of plastic,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> large stiff ruffles,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and even hoops.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> His attempt to reflect the period's blouson trend in a multi-level, bloused, sequin-trimmed evening creation of complex construction was particularly notable.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> He also continued to present short shorts for both day and evening, long after the 1971 peak of interest in hot pants.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
By 1979, his skirt hems were almost all at the knee.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1978 and '79, signs appeared among the avant-garde<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and then mainstream designers<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> of a sixties revival, and Courrèges reintroduced some of his most famous styles from the mid-sixties, adding more primary color for interest.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
At the end of the 1970s, Courrèges signed licensing agreements for lines of several garments, from shoes to towels.<ref name=":0" />
1980+Edit
In early 1983, Courrèges worked with the Japanese motor company Honda to design special editions of their TACT motor scooter. By 2005, Itokin held the Japanese ready-to-wear license for the Courrèges brand, with a retail value of €50 million.<ref name=Luxury>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref name=nyobit/>
In 1984 Courrèges designed the Peugeot "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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2011, André and Coqueline Courrèges sold the Courrèges brand for more than 10 million euros ($13.05 million) to twoYoung & Rubicam advertising executives, Jacques Bungert and Frédéric Torloting.<ref name=nyobit/><ref name="reuters.com">Alexandria Sage (24 January 2012), French brand Courreges takes retro fashion onlineReuters.</ref> By 2012, total revenue for the brand was about 20 million euros.<ref name="reuters.com"/>
In 2014, Groupe Artemis, the personal investment vehicle of François-Henri Pinault, purchased a minority stake in Courrège. In 2018 Groupe Artemis became the majority shareholder of the brand.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Nicholas di Felice was appointed creative director in September 2020, and has been credited with revitalizing the brand and bringing it back to relevance.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Space designEdit
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".<ref name="steelebergac"/> 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."<ref name="South China Morning Post"/> 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.<ref name="Reed 2012 30">Template:Cite book</ref> He utilised unconventional materials such as metal, plastic and PVC which was unusual for couture ateliers.<ref name="Reed 2012 30"/> The entire collection was celebrated with British Vogue announced that 1964 was "the year of Courrèges".<ref name="Reed 2012 30"/> The New York Times 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 and Paco Rabanne 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 deathEdit
Courrèges suffered from Parkinson's disease for the last 30 years of his life.<ref name=washobit/> He died on 7 January 2016 aged 92, in Neuilly-sur-Seine outside Paris<ref name="Friedman 2016"/> and was survived by his wife and their daughter.<ref name=nyobit>Template:Cite news</ref>
His death was published in notable media outlets and many designers went to celebrate his life online. President François Hollande went to Twitter to say, "A revolutionary designer, André Courrèges made his mark on haute couture using geometric shapes and new materials."<ref name="Friedman 2016"/> 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, the owner of 10 Corso Como stated that, "It changed the concept of couture, marking the turn of fashion into a new era."<ref name="Friedman 2016"/>