Rudolf Gernreich

Place: Vienna

Born: 1922

Death: 1985

Biography:

Rudi Gernreich was an Austrian-born American fashion designer, known for his innovative and dynamic fashion designs of the 1960s. He purposefully used fashion design as a social statement to advance sexual freedom, producing clothes that followed the natural form of the female body, freeing them from the constraints of high fashion. Gernreich was known for the early use of vinyl and plastic in clothing, and for his use of cutouts. He 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. He was a four-time recipient of the Coty American Fashion Critics Award. He produced what is regarded as the first fashion video, Basic Black: William Claxton w/Peggy Moffitt, in 1966. He had a long, unconventional, and trend-setting career in fashion design. Gernreich was also a founding member of and financially supported the early activities of the Mattachine Society.