Andre Courreges: Space Age Fashion Designer

Designing clothes in the golden age of the Concorde, moon landings, and the space race, André Courrèges blazed a unique trail in the world of fashion. Courrèges, who died in January 2016 at aged 92, was known for his daring, avant-garde, and mod, cool looks. His work left a rich legacy for future generations of fashion designers and is still being referenced today.

His followers were legendary: Jacqueline Kennedy, socialites the Duchess of Windsor and Gloria Guinness, French pop singers Françoise Hardy and Sylvie Vartan, and French actresses Catherine Deneuve and Brigitte Bardot – all regular Courrèges customers.

Courrèges’ beginnings were humble yet as far off the fashion track as one can be. He was born in Pau, a small town tucked in the French Pyrenees, on March 9, 1923. His father, a butler in a stately home, wanted him to study engineering; he agreed, and eventually landed a job as a manager in engineering research. “I was the unhappiest man on earth,” he later said.

He escaped engineering by serving as a pilot during World War II. Upon his return to civilian life, Courrèges decided to change tracks and pursue fashion. He joined the then-trailblazing house of Balenciaga as an entry-level gofer and during his ten years there, worked his way up to first assistant to the master Cristobal.

In 1961, Courrèges left to start his own brand and melded what he learned from Balenciaga about shape, architecture, and structure with a wholly youthful and modernist approach. He became known for extremely simple, geometric, modern designs, including the “little white dress” and stylish pants for women, looks that were often paired with low-heeled white ankle boots – a style that became known as the Courrèges boot, and later evolved into the popular go-go boot.

Courrège’s autumn 1964 collection was revolutionary, introducing modern, futuristic designs that were unheard of during that time. His “Space Age” collection consisted of “architecturally-sculpted, double-breasted coats with contrasting trim; well-tailored, sleeveless or short-sleeved minidresses with dropped waistlines, detailed welt seaming, and daring cut-out panels that displayed waists, midriffs, and backs; tunics worn with hipster pants; and flat soled go-go boots.” Accessories were inspired by astronauts’ equipment such as goggles, helmets, and flat boots. White and metallic colorways were implemented to emphasize the futuristic collection.

The New York Times called it “the brightest blaze of the year” and British Vogue dubbed 1964 “the Year of Courrèges.”

The collection’s most notable looks included linear minidresses and a knit bodystocking with a gabardine miniskirt slung around the hips. The popularity of the miniskirt was soon widely incorporated into the looks of his fellow designers of the day, much to his chagrin. A public controversy ensued over who created the idea for the miniskirt between Courrèges and the fashion designer Mary Quant, who famously incorporated the look into her own line and made it her own. Courrèges explicitly claimed to have invented it, accusing his London rival, Quant, of merely “commercializing” it. Quant always insisted, “it wasn’t me or Courrèges who invented the miniskirt anyway. It was the girls in the street who did it.” According to sales records, Courrèges sold 200,000 miniskirts in 1965 following his launch of the miniskirt in this collection that earned him the nickname “Space Age Designer” by the trades.

Courrèges’ life and career boomed throughout the 1960s and 1970s but in 1968, he sold half his company to the beauty giant L’Oréal to help expand his company. Within four years, he opened 125 boutiques worldwide and introduced his first perfume, Mr. Courrèges.

By the early 1980s, fashion trends had shifted towards the avant-garde, the antithesis of Courrèges’ hyper-strict design lines. By 1986, Courrèges was dropped from the official couture list by the French fashion association-a brutal blow. Although he fought to regain control of his company in the early 1990s, he sadly learned he had Parkinson’s disease. As his condition worsened, he was forced to retire and hand over creative duties to his wife and design assistant, Coqueline Barrière.

In 2011, André and Coqueline Courrèges sold the Courrèges brand for more than $13.05 million to two Young & Rubicam advertising executives, Jacques Bungert and Frédéric Torloting, who attempted to revive the brand and bring it back to relevance.

Today, Courrèges is known as a brand that “represents a new luxury that is defined not just by price, but really by know-how and quality.” After doubling revenues last year, Courrèges plans to open four stores in 2024, including a new flagship in the Marais district of Paris. In the U.S., the house is set to inaugurate its first West Coast location at the South Coast Plaza Mall this summer.

While Courrèges’ management still sees the company and brand as “under construction,” the Space Age label continues to define its future.