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Written by Madison Todd for Introduction to Fashion Design
Spring 2017
Professor Christopher McDonnell
THE BEGINNING:
Courrèges, constantly
thinking ahead of the time, was able to move right along with
the style changes of the new era. The Courrèges’ idea
was that women needed to be able to walk and run again in
their shoes, so they decided to create a flat boot. However
this changed all of the proportions for a women’s body.
This created a very delicate balance to the body, and a hat
became a necessity to finish the ensemble. They decided
this new garment, new look, would fall from the shoulders
and float off the body. Courrèges noted that he didn’t want
to emphasize the waistline because the body is a whole; he
didn’t want to treat the top and bottom as two different parts.
Audrey Hepburn in André Courrèges Hat,
photographed by Douglas Kirkland, 1965
Courrèges kept working on his designs over the years, and eventually
fashion was closing in on his vision. He had been designing and selling
some of the most desired pieces for sportswear for a couple of years,
and understood that this would have an influence on clothing. According
to The Great Fashion Designers, in 1977 Courrèges said, “We have
reached another turning point. Other designers are wanting to give women
that refined style of the 1940s, but it does not correspond to their way of
life. So the cothes made for sport must be embodied into every day life.
We must introduce a more relaxed, at – ease style to everday clothes.”
Although Courrèges was a couple of years off, it is interesting to see
how accurate he is in his hypothesis while analyzing fashion trends today.
By 1972 there were 125 Courrèges boutiques worldwide and
the company went on to create their own fragrance and accessory
lines. Courrèges was chosen to create the staff uniforms for the
Munich Olympics, and the next year the powerhouse began designing
menswear. Although fashion moved on from the futuristic movement,
Courrèges and his wife kept to their own personal style. The two were
able to regain the company again in 1994, after being tossed around
to other business in the recent years. In 2002, Coqueline began
developing a line of electric concept cars that resemble the curves of
the white helmets her husband made a signature piece. The pair sold the
brand in 2011 to two former Young and Rubicam advertising executives:
Jacques Bungert and Frederic Tortoting. The brand reappeared on the
Paris Fashion Week Runway in September 2015 under two new creative
directors: Sebastian Meyer and Arnaud Valliant. One of the new Courrèges
pieces was worn by Miley Cyrus to the MTV’s Video Music Awards in 2015.
André Courrèges passed
away January 7, 2016. Courrèges will always be known
as the man who changed the look of fashion. Throughout
his years, he has risen to international fame for his forward –
thinking modern designs. Along with other contemporary
designers, such as Paco Rabanne and Pierre Cardin,
Courrèges changed the look of the sixties for the go – go
girls of the era. The advancement that Courrèges’ Space
Age collection made for the entire world of fashion, including
how business in fashion is done, is legendary. The brand will
forever be remembered as changing the world of fashion
as we know it.
André Courrèges and model, late 1960s
References:
Brenda Polan, Roger Tredre. The Great Fashion Designers. New York : Berg, 2009.
Steele, Valerie. Fifty Years of Fashion . Paris : Yale University Press, 1997.