RUDIMENTARY

Equality, sexuality, diversity, gender fluidity – Rudi Gernreich shocked the America of the 60s and 70s. His political statements overshadowed his work as a fashion designer, although his designs were revolutionary nonetheless.

“Do you know what my biggest wish is?” Gernreich asked his mother when he was just five years old, “all people should be equal, no one too good and no one too bad.” His parents raised him in Vienna, passing on ideals like democracy and social justice. After fleeing the country from the Nazis to the USA, Gernreich made headlines as a social activist. His career as a fashion designer only took off later through his job as a dancer in Los Angeles. His understanding of the body and its movements became the foundation of his designs. After the formation of his label in 1960, he sent the fashion world into a frenzy with his radical pieces of clothing like the thong, the monokini, patterned nylons and his topless fashion. Also, the first conceptual fashion short film arose from the long collaboration of Gernreich and his muse Peggy Moffitt. Nowadays, many designers as well as consumers are looking for content and sense within fashion; Rudi’s clothing was a social statement.