Rudolf "Rudi" Gernreich was an Austrian-born American fashion designer whose avant-garde clothing designs are generally regarded as the most innovative and dynamic fashion of the 1960s.
47 Facts About Rudi Gernreich
2.
Rudi Gernreich was known for the early use of vinyl and plastic in clothing, and for his use of cutouts.
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Rudi Gernreich designed the first thong bathing suit, unisex clothing, the first swimsuit without a built-in bra, the minimalist, soft, transparent No Bra, and the topless monokini.
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Rudi Gernreich was a four-time recipient of the Coty American Fashion Critics Award.
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Rudi Gernreich had a long, unconventional, and trend-setting career in fashion design.
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Rudi Gernreich was a founding member of and financially supported the early activities of the Mattachine Society.
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Rudi Gernreich consciously pushed the boundaries of acceptable fashion and used his designs as an opportunity to comment on social issues and to expand society's perception of what was acceptable.
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Rudi Gernreich's father was a stocking manufacturer who had served in World War I and who died by suicide when Gernreich was eight years old.
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Rudi Gernreich learned about high fashion from his aunt, Hedwig Muller, who with her husband Oskar Jellinek, owned a dress shop.
10.
Rudi Gernreich spent many hours in his aunt's shop sketching her designs for Viennese high society and learned about fabrics.
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Rudi Gernreich's mother took 16-year-old Rudi and escaped to the United States as Jewish refugees, settling in Los Angeles, California.
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Rudi Gernreich attended Los Angeles City College from 1938 to 1941, and the Los Angeles Art Center School from 1941 to 1942.
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Rudi Gernreich briefly worked in Hollywood costume design, but hated it.
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Rudi Gernreich began designing his own line of clothes in Los Angeles and New York until 1951, when fellow Viennese immigrant Walter Bass in Beverly Hills convinced him to sign a seven-year contract with him.
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Rudi Gernreich changed his company's name to Rudi Gernreich Inc in 1964.
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Rudi Gernreich wanted his designs to be affordable and in 1966, he broke American fashion's unwritten rule that name designers don't sell to chain stores.
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Rudi Gernreich's fashions proved popular and lasted several seasons, showing that original design would sell at popular prices.
18.
In 1966, Rudi Gernreich was named one of the "fashion revolutionaries" in New York by Women's Wear Daily, alongside Edie Sedgwick, Tiger Morse, Pierre Cardin, Paco Rabanne, Baby Jane Holzer, Andre Courreges, Emanuel Ungaro, Yves Saint Laurent, and Mary Quant.
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Rudi Gernreich designed the Moonbase Alpha uniforms worn by the main characters of the 1970s British science-fiction television series Space: 1999, pushing the boundaries of the futuristic look in clothing over the course of three decades.
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Rudi Gernreich developed a reputation as an avant-garde designer who broke many design rules.
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Rudi Gernreich's designs used elasticized wool knits that clung to the woman's body.
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Rudi Gernreich was featured on the cover of Time in December 1967 with models Peggy Moffitt and Leon Bing.
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Rudi Gernreich worked closely with model Peggy Moffitt and her husband and photographer William Claxton for many years, pushing the boundaries of the "futuristic look" in clothing over the course of three decades.
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Rudi Gernreich's work paired minimalist designs with bright, psychedelic colors and strong geometric patterns, pushing the boundaries of contemporary women's clothing.
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Rudi Gernreich was the sixth American designer to be elected to the Coty American Fashion Hall of Fame.
26.
Rudi Gernreich designed the first see-through chiffon blouse, fashioned clothes from leotards and tights, decorated them with zippers and dog leash clasps, and in 1970 introduced the idea of unisex clothing that was minimalist, utilitarian, and optional, including men's suits and hats for women.
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Rudi Gernreich showed his designs on a male and female model who were both shaved.
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Rudi Gernreich designed coordinated outfits of dresses, handbags, hats, and stockings.
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Rudi Gernreich patented the thong design but gave up enforcing his rights due to legal difficulties.
30.
Rudi Gernreich is most well known for his design of the first topless swimsuit, which he called the "Monokini".
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Rudi Gernreich conceived the Monokini at the end of 1963, after Susanne Kirtland of Look called Rudi Gernreich and asked him to draw a suit to accompany a trend story along futuristic lines.
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Rudi Gernreich saw the swimsuit as a protest against repressive society.
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Rudi Gernreich predicted that "bosom will be uncovered within five years".
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Rudi Gernreich saw baring of a woman's breasts as a form of freedom.
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Rudi Gernreich initially did not intend to produce the design commercially, but Kirtland of Look urged him to make it available to the public.
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Rudi Gernreich preferred that his designs should be worn braless, and in October 1964, at the request the brassiere manufacturer Exquisite Form, Rudi Gernreich announced the "No Bra".
37.
Rudi Gernreich produced a "No Front" maillot design with a deep, plunging front for slit-to-the-waist necklines, and a "No-Back" long-line version that was anchored using contoured stretch-waistband that allowed a woman to wear a backless dress.
38.
Rudi Gernreich received his first design award in 1956, a junior award from Sports Illustrated.
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Rudi Gernreich won the Wool Knit Association award in 1960.
40.
In 1963, Rudi Gernreich won two major awards: in May he received Sports Illustrated's Sporting Look Award and in June he was awarded the Coty American Fashion Critics Award.
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Rudi Gernreich is credited with a recipe for red pepper soup, a cold soup served in red pepper cases and garnished with caviar and lemon.
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Rudi Gernreich met Los Angeles-based Communist and gay rights activist Harry Hay in July 1950, and the two became lovers.
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Rudi Gernreich was a founding member of and an enthusiastic financial supporter of the Mattachine Society, though privately, preferring to be known by the initial "R".
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In 1953, Rudi Gernreich met Oreste Pucciani, future chairman of the UCLA French department, who was a key figure in bringing Jean-Paul Sartre to the attention of American educators.
45.
Rudi Gernreich was diagnosed with lung cancer in January 1985 and died on April 21,1985, at age 62.
46.
Actor Michael Urie, who performed the role of Rudi Gernreich, received a Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Actor.
47.
Doyle's holds the record for Rudi Gernreich, set in 2002: $8,500 for two minidresses with peekaboo vinyl inserts.