Iconic French fashion designer Sonia Rykiel died today, at the age of 86 after a long battle with Parkinson’s
disease.
Rykiel died at 5 a.m. at her home in Paris from the effects of Parkinson’s, her daughter Nathalie Rykiel said in a statement.
Rykiel launched her own fashion house in 1968
buoyed by the Swinging Sixties craze in London.
She
had made her breakthrough in 1962 with the so-called "Poor Boy Sweater", a
garment designed for women, that had long sleeves and a shorter, fitted
shape.
The "Poor Boy" met resistance at first, but
all that changed in December 1963 when Elle magazine featured the
19-year-old French pop idol Francois Hardy on its front cover in a
stripy red-and-pink Rykiel number.
Then Brigitte Bardot and singer Sylvie Vartan were
photographed in Rykiel sweaters and Andrey Hepburn herself went to the
shop and snapped up five of them.
Rykiel
was born in the upmarket Paris suburb of Neuilly in 1930 as the eldest
of five daughters to a Romanian watchmaker father, and a Russian mother.
In 1954, she married a clothing store owner, Sam Rykiel, with whom she had two children and whom she later divorced.
Within
the French fashion industry, Rykiel will be remembered as an original
who helped cement Paris and, in particular, the Left Bank, as the
capital of French Couture.
French President François Hollande offered his condolences to the fashion legend’s family and loved ones, calling Rykiel a pioneer who “invented not only a look, but also an attitude, a way of living and being”.
The Socialist president also said Rykiel’s style, “will remain a
symbol of her remarkable work with colour and nature, fluidity and
light.”
“She invented not only a look, but also
an attitude, a way of living and being”.
See the Sonia Rykiel Fall 2016 collection here
and the Resort Collection 2017
Thank You, Sonia!
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