André Courrèges, the founder of the Courrèges brand, was born in 1923 in Pau in the French Pyrenees. André’s father was against him attending art school and wanted him to become an engineer. André gave up his passion and enrolled in the National School of Bridges and Roads. During World War II, he also served as a fighter pilot in the French Air Force.
At the age of 28, Courrèges made an important decision in his life and moved to Paris to become a designer. He studied under the great French couturier Cristóbal Balenciaga, whose complex, sculptural designs corresponded to Courrèges’ ideas. He spent 10 years in Balenciaga’s atelier, learning the art of tailoring. It was there that he met his muse, Coquelin Barrier.
In 1961, with Balenciaga’s blessing and financial support, Courrèges and Barrier opened Maison de Courrèges. This haute couture salon was named “AC” (André and Coqueline).
Space Age.
The House of Courrèges opened at a time when the world was fascinated with space. The Soviet Union and the United States had begun the space race. After two world wars, the future suddenly seemed full of possibilities, reflected in the ambitious projects proposed by everyone from artists and architects to film directors and fashion designers.
In 1964, Courrèges launched his Space Age collection, and his career took off. Instead of dresses that squeezed or hugged the body, Courrèges introduced A-line minidresses that freed women from the need to wear a bra. Double-breasted coats were belted and flared from the waist down for ease of movement. It is believed that the miniskirt was invented by Courèges or the English designer Mary Quant. The collection even included trousers that were forbidden for women to wear in France in the 1960s.
Courrèges’ clothes were reminiscent of triangles, trapezoids and rectangles. His silhouette retained its characteristic shape through the use of stiff white and silver gabardine fabrics. He was accompanied by fashionable alien accessories: white gloves, helmets, glasses and flat boots. The models at the designer’s groundbreaking show also looked otherworldly. Courrèges’ “Moon Girls” were young and athletic, jumping and dancing to music.
Courrèges’ bold, futuristic designs cemented his place in 1960s fashion. Together with French designers Pierre Cardin and Paco Rabanne, he created the Parisian “space age” style and found his clients among the icons of the decade, including Jacqueline Kennedy, Catherine Deneuve, Brigitte Bardot and Françoise Hardy.
André Courrèges continued to explore space through the prism of fashion until the end of the last century. Instead of flowing silks and heavy brocades, he favored metallic and synthetic materials such as shiny polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and neoprene. He also introduced designs made of transparent plastic made from plant fibers. However, despite his innovations, fashion evolved quickly. Courrèges’ “moon girls” were soon replaced by hippies, and fashion returned to earth. Eventually, in 1995, the French designer retired, leaving Coquelin Courrèges at the helm of the brand.
The rebirth of Courrèges.
In 2011, former Young & Rubicam advertising agency heads Jacques Vanger and Frédéric Trullotting bought the brand from its founders, in 2015, designers Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant took over the brand, and in 2020, Nicolas Di Felice launched the brand. After just two years as creative directors of the historic French brand, the founders of Coperni decided to focus their efforts on their own label. Coperni designers continue to preserve the legacy of Courrèges, incorporating futuristic design, space, and Le Corbusier’s architecture into their collections.
Today, Courrèges is starting from scratch. Having worked with Nicolas Ghesquière at Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton, Belgian designer Nicolas Di Felice went back into the brand’s archives after taking over, looking through 10,000 pieces of womenswear and accessories. His first pieces combined a purist approach with rough details inspired by Di Felice’s love of clubs and electronic music. Black vinyl tops with cutouts and leather biker jackets with wool collars.
Di Felice told WWD: “Above all, it has to be something you don’t want to throw away after six months.” At a time when the fashion industry is the most polluted in the world, Courrèges has made sustainability a central idea for the fashion house. The brand’s commitment to a more eco-friendly approach is evident in its use of innovative materials and production methods. Instead of the iconic PVC garments, Courrèges uses bio-based, recyclable alternatives. In addition, the brand uses eco-friendly materials such as organic cotton and recycled polyester in its collections.
