Rudi Gernreich
Rudi Gernreich
American, born Austria, 1922–1985
Birth placeVienna, Austria
Death placeLos Angeles, California, United States
BiographyAmerican, born Vienna, Austria, 1922, died 1985, Los Angeles, CaliforniaRudi Gernreich (August 8, 1922–April 21, 1985) was a fashion designer and gay activist. Born in Vienna, he fled Austria at age 16 due to Nazism. He came to the USA, settling in Los Angeles, California. For a time, he had a career as a dancer, performing with the Lester Horton company around 1945.
He moved into fashion design via fabric design, and then worked closely with model Peggy Moffitt and photographer William Claxton, pushing the boundaries of "the futuristic look" in clothing over three decades. An exhibition of his work at the Phoenix Art Museum in 2003 hailed him as "one of the most original, prophetic and controversial American designers of the 1950s, '60s and '70s."
He is perhaps most notorious for inventing the first topless swimsuit, or monokini, as well as the pubikini (a bikini with a window in front to reveal the woman's pubic hair) and later the thong swimsuit. He was also known as the first designer to use vinyl and plastic in clothes, and he designed the Moonbase Alpha uniforms on the television series Space: 1999.
Person TypePerson
American, born England, 1893–1975
American, born France, 1868–1946
American, born Cuban, 1915–2022
American, born Austria, 1887–1958
