RUDI GERNREICH, 62:- Tuesday, April 23, 1985
Designer Rudi Gernreich, who shocked the fashion world in 1964 with his introduction of the topless bathing suit and went on in the 1970s to promote unisex clothing and partial nudity, died of lung cancer Sunday at the age of 62.
Mr. Gernreich, who won several awards from the fashion industry during the 1960s, had been admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's hospice unit for the terminally ill in early January, hospital spokesman Ron Wise said.
A longtime friend, Oreste F. Pucciani, said the designer "never stopped his artistic pursuits. He was always working at something."
To his admirers he was a prophet - a seer with 20-20 fashion vision. To his detractors he also was a prophet - the oracle of ugly. To much of the fashion industry, he was considered the most inventive designer of his time.
Mr. Gernreich got his first look at the world of high fashion as a child. His sanctuary from what he called the rigid militaristic atmosphere of school was the Vienna dress shop run by his aunt, Hedwig Mueller, and there he spent hours sketching her designs for Viennese society and learning as much as he could about fabrics.
Mr. Gernreich emigrated from Austria with his mother in 1938 after the death of his father, a hosiery manufacturer. The two settled in California, where Mr. Gernreich was attracted to the sportswear industry. He was granted American citizenship in 1943.
Although he probably was best known for his topless bathing suit of 1964, he had been recognized by the fashion world since the 1950s as the designer who freed women from the constraints of high fashion by creating young, often daring clothing that followed the natural form of the female body.
Along with London's Mary Quant, he was one of the first designers to shorten skirts to mini highs in the early '60s. His other fashion firsts included the no-bra bra, the no-shape swimsuit, the see-through blouse, the little-boy look, the thong bathing suit, evening gowns with built-in jewelry and clashing color combinations that were psychedelic before that term became commonplace.
In a kind of pre-punk mode, he playfully cut holes in his dresses and bathing suits, and he brought wool jersey to swimsuits and such fabrics as vinyl and cellophane to high fashion. The idea for his topless bathing suit design, which thrust him into the international spotlight, originated during a 1962 interview with Women's Wear Daily in which he predicted that women in the United States would be going topless at the beach within five years.
Deluged with callers asking, "Are you serious?" Mr. Gernreich designed a prototype topless suit for Look magazine. He sold only 3,000 copies at $25 each, but said he was more concerned with making a fashion statement than creating a popular garment.
The topless suit brought condemnation from the Vatican, the Kremlin and many American clerics. Women picketed stores carrying the suit, and several aspiring actresses clad in the suits were arrested for indecent exposure on California beaches. In St. Tropez, France, the mayor ordered a helicopter patrol of the beaches to make sure women kept their tops on.
After the furor died down, Mr. Gernreich said, "I'd do it again because I think the topless, by overstating and exaggerating a new freedom of the body, will make the moderate, right degree of freedom more acceptable."
In 1970, after a yearlong sabbatical spent in Europe and his Hollywood Hills home, Mr. Gernreich returned to the fashion scene to promote the unisex look that included shaved heads for both men and women and identical clothing, including skirts and two-piece bathing suits for men.
He promoted partial nudity for the young but designed long, flowing caftanlike robes for the elderly.
"People simply have to get over their youth hang-up and accept their advancing years as a natural process of life," he said.
By the mid-1970s, "he'd gotten his message across" and retired from clothes designing, Pucciani said. "The time had come when he had spoken his piece."
Mr. Gernreich began designing furniture, although none was produced commercially, Pucciani said. He also designed sets and costumes and helped choreograph for the Bella Lewitzsky Dance Gallery in Los Angeles.
Mr. Gernreich won the Coty American Fashion Critics award in 1960 and 1966 and Coty's Winnie award in 1963, and he was inducted into the Coty Hall of Fame in 1967.
Pucciani said that Mr. Gernreich is survived by several cousins in Europe but that he had no close relatives.
Funeral services will be private and the body will be cremated, Pucciani said.
Designer Rudi Gernreich, who shocked the fashion world in 1964 with his introduction of the topless bathing suit and went on in the 1970s to promote unisex clothing and partial nudity, died of lung cancer Sunday at the age of 62.
Mr. Gernreich, who won several awards from the fashion industry during the 1960s, had been admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's hospice unit for the terminally ill in early January, hospital spokesman Ron Wise said.
A longtime friend, Oreste F. Pucciani, said the designer "never stopped his artistic pursuits. He was always working at something."
To his admirers he was a prophet - a seer with 20-20 fashion vision. To his detractors he also was a prophet - the oracle of ugly. To much of the fashion industry, he was considered the most inventive designer of his time.
Mr. Gernreich got his first look at the world of high fashion as a child. His sanctuary from what he called the rigid militaristic atmosphere of school was the Vienna dress shop run by his aunt, Hedwig Mueller, and there he spent hours sketching her designs for Viennese society and learning as much as he could about fabrics.
Mr. Gernreich emigrated from Austria with his mother in 1938 after the death of his father, a hosiery manufacturer. The two settled in California, where Mr. Gernreich was attracted to the sportswear industry. He was granted American citizenship in 1943.
Although he probably was best known for his topless bathing suit of 1964, he had been recognized by the fashion world since the 1950s as the designer who freed women from the constraints of high fashion by creating young, often daring clothing that followed the natural form of the female body.
Along with London's Mary Quant, he was one of the first designers to shorten skirts to mini highs in the early '60s. His other fashion firsts included the no-bra bra, the no-shape swimsuit, the see-through blouse, the little-boy look, the thong bathing suit, evening gowns with built-in jewelry and clashing color combinations that were psychedelic before that term became commonplace.
In a kind of pre-punk mode, he playfully cut holes in his dresses and bathing suits, and he brought wool jersey to swimsuits and such fabrics as vinyl and cellophane to high fashion. The idea for his topless bathing suit design, which thrust him into the international spotlight, originated during a 1962 interview with Women's Wear Daily in which he predicted that women in the United States would be going topless at the beach within five years.
Deluged with callers asking, "Are you serious?" Mr. Gernreich designed a prototype topless suit for Look magazine. He sold only 3,000 copies at $25 each, but said he was more concerned with making a fashion statement than creating a popular garment.
The topless suit brought condemnation from the Vatican, the Kremlin and many American clerics. Women picketed stores carrying the suit, and several aspiring actresses clad in the suits were arrested for indecent exposure on California beaches. In St. Tropez, France, the mayor ordered a helicopter patrol of the beaches to make sure women kept their tops on.
After the furor died down, Mr. Gernreich said, "I'd do it again because I think the topless, by overstating and exaggerating a new freedom of the body, will make the moderate, right degree of freedom more acceptable."
In 1970, after a yearlong sabbatical spent in Europe and his Hollywood Hills home, Mr. Gernreich returned to the fashion scene to promote the unisex look that included shaved heads for both men and women and identical clothing, including skirts and two-piece bathing suits for men.
He promoted partial nudity for the young but designed long, flowing caftanlike robes for the elderly.
"People simply have to get over their youth hang-up and accept their advancing years as a natural process of life," he said.
By the mid-1970s, "he'd gotten his message across" and retired from clothes designing, Pucciani said. "The time had come when he had spoken his piece."
Mr. Gernreich began designing furniture, although none was produced commercially, Pucciani said. He also designed sets and costumes and helped choreograph for the Bella Lewitzsky Dance Gallery in Los Angeles.
Mr. Gernreich won the Coty American Fashion Critics award in 1960 and 1966 and Coty's Winnie award in 1963, and he was inducted into the Coty Hall of Fame in 1967.
Pucciani said that Mr. Gernreich is survived by several cousins in Europe but that he had no close relatives.
Funeral services will be private and the body will be cremated, Pucciani said.
RUDI GERNREICH, 62:- Tuesday, April 23, 1985
Designer Rudi Gernreich, who shocked the fashion world in 1964 with his introduction of the topless bathing suit and went on in the 1970s to promote unisex clothing and partial nudity, died of lung cancer Sunday at the age of 62.
Mr. Gernreich, who won several awards from the fashion industry during the 1960s, had been admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's hospice unit for the terminally ill in early January, hospital spokesman Ron Wise said.
A longtime friend, Oreste F. Pucciani, said the designer "never stopped his artistic pursuits. He was always working at something."
To his admirers he was a prophet - a seer with 20-20 fashion vision. To his detractors he also was a prophet - the oracle of ugly. To much of the fashion industry, he was considered the most inventive designer of his time.
Mr. Gernreich got his first look at the world of high fashion as a child. His sanctuary from what he called the rigid militaristic atmosphere of school was the Vienna dress shop run by his aunt, Hedwig Mueller, and there he spent hours sketching her designs for Viennese society and learning as much as he could about fabrics.
Mr. Gernreich emigrated from Austria with his mother in 1938 after the death of his father, a hosiery manufacturer. The two settled in California, where Mr. Gernreich was attracted to the sportswear industry. He was granted American citizenship in 1943.
Although he probably was best known for his topless bathing suit of 1964, he had been recognized by the fashion world since the 1950s as the designer who freed women from the constraints of high fashion by creating young, often daring clothing that followed the natural form of the female body.
Along with London's Mary Quant, he was one of the first designers to shorten skirts to mini highs in the early '60s. His other fashion firsts included the no-bra bra, the no-shape swimsuit, the see-through blouse, the little-boy look, the thong bathing suit, evening gowns with built-in jewelry and clashing color combinations that were psychedelic before that term became commonplace.
In a kind of pre-punk mode, he playfully cut holes in his dresses and bathing suits, and he brought wool jersey to swimsuits and such fabrics as vinyl and cellophane to high fashion. The idea for his topless bathing suit design, which thrust him into the international spotlight, originated during a 1962 interview with Women's Wear Daily in which he predicted that women in the United States would be going topless at the beach within five years.
Deluged with callers asking, "Are you serious?" Mr. Gernreich designed a prototype topless suit for Look magazine. He sold only 3,000 copies at $25 each, but said he was more concerned with making a fashion statement than creating a popular garment.
The topless suit brought condemnation from the Vatican, the Kremlin and many American clerics. Women picketed stores carrying the suit, and several aspiring actresses clad in the suits were arrested for indecent exposure on California beaches. In St. Tropez, France, the mayor ordered a helicopter patrol of the beaches to make sure women kept their tops on.
After the furor died down, Mr. Gernreich said, "I'd do it again because I think the topless, by overstating and exaggerating a new freedom of the body, will make the moderate, right degree of freedom more acceptable."
In 1970, after a yearlong sabbatical spent in Europe and his Hollywood Hills home, Mr. Gernreich returned to the fashion scene to promote the unisex look that included shaved heads for both men and women and identical clothing, including skirts and two-piece bathing suits for men.
He promoted partial nudity for the young but designed long, flowing caftanlike robes for the elderly.
"People simply have to get over their youth hang-up and accept their advancing years as a natural process of life," he said.
By the mid-1970s, "he'd gotten his message across" and retired from clothes designing, Pucciani said. "The time had come when he had spoken his piece."
Mr. Gernreich began designing furniture, although none was produced commercially, Pucciani said. He also designed sets and costumes and helped choreograph for the Bella Lewitzsky Dance Gallery in Los Angeles.
Mr. Gernreich won the Coty American Fashion Critics award in 1960 and 1966 and Coty's Winnie award in 1963, and he was inducted into the Coty Hall of Fame in 1967.
Pucciani said that Mr. Gernreich is survived by several cousins in Europe but that he had no close relatives.
Funeral services will be private and the body will be cremated, Pucciani said.
Designer Rudi Gernreich, who shocked the fashion world in 1964 with his introduction of the topless bathing suit and went on in the 1970s to promote unisex clothing and partial nudity, died of lung cancer Sunday at the age of 62.
Mr. Gernreich, who won several awards from the fashion industry during the 1960s, had been admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's hospice unit for the terminally ill in early January, hospital spokesman Ron Wise said.
A longtime friend, Oreste F. Pucciani, said the designer "never stopped his artistic pursuits. He was always working at something."
To his admirers he was a prophet - a seer with 20-20 fashion vision. To his detractors he also was a prophet - the oracle of ugly. To much of the fashion industry, he was considered the most inventive designer of his time.
Mr. Gernreich got his first look at the world of high fashion as a child. His sanctuary from what he called the rigid militaristic atmosphere of school was the Vienna dress shop run by his aunt, Hedwig Mueller, and there he spent hours sketching her designs for Viennese society and learning as much as he could about fabrics.
Mr. Gernreich emigrated from Austria with his mother in 1938 after the death of his father, a hosiery manufacturer. The two settled in California, where Mr. Gernreich was attracted to the sportswear industry. He was granted American citizenship in 1943.
Although he probably was best known for his topless bathing suit of 1964, he had been recognized by the fashion world since the 1950s as the designer who freed women from the constraints of high fashion by creating young, often daring clothing that followed the natural form of the female body.
Along with London's Mary Quant, he was one of the first designers to shorten skirts to mini highs in the early '60s. His other fashion firsts included the no-bra bra, the no-shape swimsuit, the see-through blouse, the little-boy look, the thong bathing suit, evening gowns with built-in jewelry and clashing color combinations that were psychedelic before that term became commonplace.
In a kind of pre-punk mode, he playfully cut holes in his dresses and bathing suits, and he brought wool jersey to swimsuits and such fabrics as vinyl and cellophane to high fashion. The idea for his topless bathing suit design, which thrust him into the international spotlight, originated during a 1962 interview with Women's Wear Daily in which he predicted that women in the United States would be going topless at the beach within five years.
Deluged with callers asking, "Are you serious?" Mr. Gernreich designed a prototype topless suit for Look magazine. He sold only 3,000 copies at $25 each, but said he was more concerned with making a fashion statement than creating a popular garment.
The topless suit brought condemnation from the Vatican, the Kremlin and many American clerics. Women picketed stores carrying the suit, and several aspiring actresses clad in the suits were arrested for indecent exposure on California beaches. In St. Tropez, France, the mayor ordered a helicopter patrol of the beaches to make sure women kept their tops on.
After the furor died down, Mr. Gernreich said, "I'd do it again because I think the topless, by overstating and exaggerating a new freedom of the body, will make the moderate, right degree of freedom more acceptable."
In 1970, after a yearlong sabbatical spent in Europe and his Hollywood Hills home, Mr. Gernreich returned to the fashion scene to promote the unisex look that included shaved heads for both men and women and identical clothing, including skirts and two-piece bathing suits for men.
He promoted partial nudity for the young but designed long, flowing caftanlike robes for the elderly.
"People simply have to get over their youth hang-up and accept their advancing years as a natural process of life," he said.
By the mid-1970s, "he'd gotten his message across" and retired from clothes designing, Pucciani said. "The time had come when he had spoken his piece."
Mr. Gernreich began designing furniture, although none was produced commercially, Pucciani said. He also designed sets and costumes and helped choreograph for the Bella Lewitzsky Dance Gallery in Los Angeles.
Mr. Gernreich won the Coty American Fashion Critics award in 1960 and 1966 and Coty's Winnie award in 1963, and he was inducted into the Coty Hall of Fame in 1967.
Pucciani said that Mr. Gernreich is survived by several cousins in Europe but that he had no close relatives.
Funeral services will be private and the body will be cremated, Pucciani said.
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