SPAGE-AGE COUTURE BY ANDRÉ COURRÈGES 1964-1969
Elle photographed by Peter Knapp, 1965
Sunday Times Cover, photographed by Peter Knapp, 1965
The early 1960s had a strong futuristic spirit. With the Cold War and the space race underway, reaching for the stars no longer seemed impossible. Designers incorporated the spirit of this new era into their designs.
Elle photographed by Peter Knapp, 1965
The space age, combined with the second-wave feminism, offered more practical clothes for the modern working woman, who had evolved from the 1950s housewife. The literally constricting fashions of the previous decade, with their corsets and girdles, gave way to more liberating and androgynous clothing, striving for equality.
Vogue, photographed by William Klein, 1965
André Courrèges, a French designer with an degree in engineering, worked as an assistant to Christóbal Balenciaga for 10 years before launching his own label in 1961. Influenced by modernism and futurism, he and used new fabrics and modern technology in his designs. He designed clothes that could move, and focused on the mobility of the modern woman, emphasising 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.”
Marie Claire France photographed by Willy Rizzo, 1965He designed minimalist, monochrome clothes made from new synthetic materials such as nylon, lurex, and spandex, which gave the designs a plastic sheen. The wrinkle-free materials were an innovation, relieving women from the dull work of ironing.
Photographed by William Laxton, 1960s
Courrèges left the knees bare, ignored the waist, minimised the bust, and lengthened the neck. The trapezoidal shift dress, slim legged trouser suit and the iconic flat boots replaced nylons and heels.
Queen Magazine, photographed by Helmut Newton, 1964
The spring 1964 collection, titled the Moon Girl Collection was his first spage-age collection within space age. André's space look reflected the look of astronauts.
