Vanessa Friedman of the New York Times reports that André Courrèges, a designer who emblematized the modernity and sexuality of the 1960s, and dressed iconic women of the era such as Françoise Hardy, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Brigitte Bardot, died on January 7 at home in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.

At twenty-eight, after serving in the French air force during World War II, Courrèges joined Cristóbal Balenciaga as an entry-level employee, staying at the eponymous house for the next ten years, and eventually becoming Balenciaga’s head assistant. Courrèges started his own house in 1961, and garnered headlines in 1964 for his “Space Age” collection, which—like the output of fellow designers of the time Pierre Cardin, Paco Rabanne, and Rudi Gernreich—eschewed the upholsterizing effects of traditional women’s undergarments and allowed his clothes to function as a second skin made of new age materials on contemporary, urbane, and active female bodies. By the early ‘70s Courrèges had boutiques all over the world, introducedEmpreinte, his first fragrance, and was chosen to create staff apparel for the 1972 Munich Olympics. In 1973, he started designing clothes for men.

Though his name was sold to different proprietors since, he and his wife, Coqueline Barrière, regained ownership in 1994. When Courrèges retired in 1995, his wife became creative director. Jacques Bungert and Frédéric Torloting purchased the brand in 2011, and in September 2015, Courrèges returned to Paris fashion week under the artistic leadership of Arnaud Vaillant and Sébastien Meyer.

Carla Sozzani, former editor-in-chief of Italian Vogue, said, “If the words ‘modern’ and ‘future’ exist in fashion, it is because of Courrèges. It changed the concept of couture, marking the turn of fashion into a new era. Today, fifty years later, the Courrèges shop is still my must destination in Paris.”