André Courrèges, space age couturier of the Swinging Sixties, dies at 92
Eponymous label favoured by French icons Brigitte Bardot and Catherine Deneuve
Fashion officials say French designer André Courrèges, who laid claim to the invention of the 1960s miniskirt, has died at the age of 92.
His fashion house said in a statement that Courrèges died Thursday night following a 30-year battle with Parkinson's disease.
Courrèges launched his fashion house in 1961. His eponymous label set the trends for such stars as Brigitte Bardot and Catherine Deneuve, who admired the designer's ground-breaking geometry, plastic miniskirts, space-age silhouettes and futuristic textiles.
The house's designs returned to the Paris catwalk last year after decades away.
French President François Hollande was among those who paid tribute to Courrèges online, with a statement that described him as a "revolutionary designer" who "made his mark on French haute couture."
Créateur révolutionnaire, usant de formes géométriques et matières nouvelles, André Courrèges a marqué de son empreinte la haute couture.
—@fhollandeA <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/tribute?src=hash">#tribute</a> to the life and work of French couturier André <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Courreges?src=hash">#Courreges</a>, who passed away today: <a href="https://t.co/eqADx20mlq">https://t.co/eqADx20mlq</a> <a href="https://t.co/9xNg26Tqy8">pic.twitter.com/9xNg26Tqy8</a>
—@VogueParisHe showed us that the future is always NOW. RIP André Courréges, the couturier of the present future. <a href="https://t.co/yMQh6Zcp5G">pic.twitter.com/yMQh6Zcp5G</a>
—@ninagarcia