It was a long week in the Spy Vibe lair, my friends. When I wasn't teaching, I found myself immersed in decades of David Bowie interviews and live performances. I join Tilda Swinton in feeling David was a kind of cousin we never met growing up. And Bowie's fluidity and experimental curiosity made him a touchstone for so many people from all walks of life. A few days before Bowie passed away, we lost another great artist with a knack for futuristic thinking, Andre Courreges (1923-2016). It's odd that, while I contemplated the French designer of the famous Moon Girl look from the 1960s, we should then also lose the great interpreter of the future in Bowie. Courreges rose up as a young talent in Balenciaga in the 1950s and opened his own salon at the dawn of the decade in 1961. He shared credit with Mary Quant for creating the mini skirt, and by 1964, established his space-inspired collections of white plastic boots, stiff helmets, joke glasses (some inspired by traditional Inuit designs), and playful slim outfits sporting cut-outs and Op Art elements. He even designed a prototype Bubble car, which later spawned a new electric model. His vision of combining synthetic materials, metals, white, and silver- and working with young models of the era- helped to define the androgynous Space Age look of the 1960s. Where would be without the mini and his white go-go boots? About her husband, Couqueline Courreges said, "He saw with eyes of his generation- it was a time of missiles to the moon." Artist Andy Warhol said, "His clothes are so beautiful, everyone should look the same, dressed in silver." Courreges was 92. Some gems below: Dali in Courreges glasses, fashion show reversals, and the designer at home in his futuristic apartment (image source: Getty). Learn more at The Guardian. Shop for vintage outfits here. Additional note: Spy Vibers may also remember designer John Bates helped champion the mini skirt before it became mainstream by dressing Diana Rigg's character Emma Peel in a mini in The Avengers. Enjoy!
