André Courrèges

André Courrèges studied engineering before going into fashion. After a decade working as a tailor under Cristobal Balenciaga, Courrèges opened his own couture house in Paris in 1961. Courrèges was influenced by Balenciaga's aesthetic of simplicity and his bold use of color. His striking 1964 spring collection, imbued with the "Pop" sensibility of the 1960s art scene, created a sensation. He quickly became a pioneer of youth fashion. Courrèges claimed to have "invented" the mini-skirt, but Mary Quant preceded him. As she put it, "It wasn't me or Courrèges - it was the girls in the street." Lacking a youth culture like London's, advanced French designers, such as Courrèges, used the future as a metaphor for youth. He is most famous for his "Space Age" designs - futuristic garments in crisp fabrics, worn with iconic accessories, such as the calf-length white "go-go" boot. He was a leader in what became a global movement of designers from elite couture work to opening ready-to-wear boutiques and licensing their names and designs. By 1965 Courrèges’s influence was indisputable. However, in the decades that followed, the designer had difficulty further developing his style, and he eventually closed his couture business in 1986. Courrèges passed away in 2016.