Re;Generate - Fashion - Secondary research
Part 2 of 2
André Courrèges
André Courrèges was a French fashion designer. He was particularly known for his streamlined 1960's designs influenced by modernism and futurism, exploiting modern technology and new fabrics. Courrèges defined the go-go boot and along with Mary Quant, is one of the designers credited with inventing the miniskirt.
Why I looked at this designer;
Along with Pierre Cardin, Courrèges also looked into space-agey fashion, and I chose to look at his work for the same reasons.
Olivier Rousteing of Balmain
Olivier Rousteing is a French fashion designer. He has been the creative director of Balmain since 2011.
Why I looked at this designer;
I chose to look at Rousteing's work as I wanted to get some inspiration for more modern versions of possibly androgynous suits, as Bowie had a very sophisticated fashion era where he wore a lot of suits. I really like the structural aspects of the above designs, the corsets with boning to create that hourglass silhouette. I also like the bold yellow, as it would have been something that Bowie himself would have opted for, as he was incredibly bold with colour and garments alike.
Dior Homme
Dior Homme is the menswear division of Christian Dior, the French clothing retailer. Dior Homme named Jonathan Anderson as creative director in 2025.
During the 1980's and 1990's Dior's menswear line was called Dior Monsieur.
Dior Homme was directed by Hedi Slimane from the 2001-02 season. Under Slimane's direction, the label introduced a characteristic slim silhouette which soon took off within the fashion industry. The early collections delved into the exploration of the male sex. The look darkened during the Luster period which was inspired by the electroscene of Berlin. From 2004, Dior Men delved into exploring the different styles of Rock and Roll.
Following Slimane's departure in 2007, Kris Van Assche implemented a more formal and minimal style. Over the seasons, he softened the black stiff silhouette which had become too cliché and opted for models who add an athletic look to the spindly Dior Men silhouette. This new look was characterized by attention to details and color palette of shades of black, gray, blue or brown.
Kim Jones served as the artistic director of Dior Homme between 2018 and 2025. Under Jones's leadership, the Dior menswear line changed its name to Dior Men in March 2018.
Why I looked at this designer;
For a similar reason as the previous designer, Rousteing, due to Bowie's suit era. These suits are definitely a lot more masculine, something that Bowie opted for a lot in the suits era, it was very masculine, although he still used bold primary colours, such as red, yellow and blue.
Viktor & Rolf
Viktor & Rolf is a Dutch avant-garde luxury fashion house founded in 1993 by Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren. For more than thirty years, Viktor & Rolf have sought to challenge preconceptions of fashion and bridge the divide between fashion and art. Viktor & Rolf have designed both haute couture and ready-to-wear collections. The duo is renowned for their avant-garde designs, which rely heavily on theatrical and performative fashion runways.
Why I looked at this designer;
I chose to look at Viktor & Rolf for, again, a similar reason to the previous 2 designers. Most of the pictured designs above can be worn as androgynous. The shape is what interested me the most though. I believe that Bowie would have chosen to wear an outfit like this for the sheer drama of it. I wanted to incorporate some of these structural design elements into my own work aswell.