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1931
André Laug was born on December 29th in Gravelines, a small French town on the North Sea, between Durnkerque and Calais, into a middle-class family. He discovered his passion for fashion at the young age of fifteen. Faithful to impeccably structured garments and a dramatic cut drawn from the shoulders to the waist, Laug can be considered the inventor of the suit-type in the historical sense of the word.
(Photo ©André Laug).
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1949
After finishing college, Laug veered away from a career in law, against his parent’s wishes, and instead dedicated two years to teaching.
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1956
After serving in the military in Algeria for two years he returned to Gravelines to begin work as a military instructor and then for an import-export company.
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1958At 27 years old, Laug broke into the world of fashion in Paris, encouraged by his friend, journalist Lucien François. There he presented his first works as a designer, under the label Raphaël, an atelier specialized in women’s couture with a laboratory on Avenue Georges V where just a year later Givenchy established itself. Laug’s talent brought drastic shapes to the silhouettes, which will bring him notoriety later in his career. At Raphaël, the French designer was exposed to the organizational nuances of a successful haute couture atelier.
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1960
After two and a half years Laug left Raphaël to begin working for Nina Ricci, where he collaborated with Jules-François Crahay (designer at Lanvin from 1964 to 1984), for the first collection S/S “Mademoiselle Ricci” of 1961, conceptualized specifically for the United States.
In the photos: Two sketches of models in 1960 (©André Laug)
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1962
After various professional conflicts with Crahay, André Laug left Nina Ricci, satisfied however that he mastered the skill that matters the most in fashion: a strong knowledge and sensibility for fabric. For a year he collaborated with Philippe Venet (master tailor at Givenchy), during which time he met André Courrèges, considered the “architect” of French fashion during a time when France was forging a new suit culture largely inspired from the anglo-saxon model. From Courrèges, together with inspiration from his favorite designer Coco Chanel, he learned the modern concept of fashion, the drama that is achieved through simple, linear forms – a concept that will present itself throughout his entire career.
In the photo: Actress and model Marisa Berenson in a Courrèges model from the 1960s (Photo by André Carrara)
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19
On December 2nd, Laug moved to Rome to work as a designer for Maria Antonelli fashion house. He remained there for five years, designing nine collections of haute couture and six collections of prêt-à-porter.
In the photo: a Laug design for Antonelli from 1966 (Photo ©André Laug)63
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1968
His greatest dream is finally realized: Laug launches his eponymous label, designing a collection of prêt-à-porter to show in Florence (Pitti) and Paris. The Chamber of Fashion in Rome offered Laug a time in the runway schedule, albeit not at the most optimal time: 8.15am in the morning on July 20. Despite his off-prime show schedule, the hall was packed and his first F/W collection of haute couture was a roaring success. In light of the occasion, and thanks to the generous contribution from Susy Gandini (owner of the fabric house and well known in France as "une femme italienne très parisienne"), Laug inaugurated his atelier in Piazza di Spagna. This date ushered in the designer’s official entry into the world of Italian fashion, noted for his particular ability to exalt the female form in a proportional, sophisticated, and structured way. Success continued in subsequent collections of prêt-à-porter and haute couture: the world fell in love with the “Parisian from Rome”. In September, Vogue dedicated a spread to him.
In the photo: White, brown, and rust pantsuit with a printed circle pattern (Photo by Tony Kent, ©Vogue-Condé Nast)
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1969
Important relationships with the most notable international retailers were made during the designer’s first collection of couture, including retail partnerships and collaborations with Elizabeth Arden, Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue: André Laug was already selling in the most important boutiques in Europe. Martha Phillips, the highly regarded American buyer, introduced him to the US market. He became one of the preferred designers for Audrey Hepburn – to whom he dedicated the “Audrey” line – among a long list of actresses and international socialites who flooded his atelier. Many supermodels starred in his runway shows: the decade that followed was marked as a period of starification for the designer’s collaboration with the world’s supermodels.
In the photo: Linda Morand for André Laug (Photo by Bob Krieger)
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1970
Vogue USA and all of the most important fashion publications dedicated covers to André Laug. After his famous suits, the designer launched blouses: light and feminine shirts that added a special European flair when combined with a jacket, which were sold in the USA for $2,500. “Women’s clothing”, he observed, “is admired mostly when she is seated at the table”. For this reason Laug concentrated his attention to collars, sleeves, and the neckline. Moving forward – as always, by way of his own observation and not necessarily by the going trend – in a year remembered for Vietnam war protests and the Italian law legalizing divorce, the Woman was imagined by other designers with simplicity, practicality, and drastic geometricism, while Laug sought softness, best represented by Ira Fürstenberg, who posed for him in the July issue of Vogue.
In the photo: Princess Fürstenberg in two gowns by André Laug (Photo by Elisabetta Catalano, ©Vogue-Condé Nast)
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1971
The S/S and F/W collections of haute couture highlighted rigor as well as transgression for Laug. His prêt-à-porter collections, known as “André Laug Bis”, introduced shorts trimmed with fringe, photographed for the April issue of Vogue with Paola Punturieri, the sister of Marina Ripa di Meana. Left, a black crepe camisole jumpsuit with a fringe that just kisses the knee. (Photo by Gianni Turillazzi, ©Vogue-Condé Nast). Right, full length gown in yellow wool with blouson jacket in the same fabric (©André Laug).
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The designer began producing his own line of Laug fabrics that he used exclusively for his haute couture collections.
(Photo ©André Laug)
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1972
After the blouse came the bow: André Laug presented his 1972 collections with the bow as a symbol for a shift to his new language; stylized and ultra-feminine at the same time, adding grace and elegance to a traditional pant suit. The collections were successful on the runways all over the world, to which end Vogue dedicated an important feature spread, photographed by Oliverio Toscani, for their September issue. Left: the double-breasted wool jackets resembled shirts, made to disappear under a fox fur coat. Right, two layers of black tulle with pink and blue intersecting stripes that create a woven effect: full skirt, puffy sleeves, and narrow waist worn by supermodel Barbarella, with the designer’s assistant Oliver (who will take over the atelier after Laug’s death) and Laug, in white (Photo by Olivero Toscani, ©Vogue-Condé Nast)
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It’s the year of the robe de mariée: the wedding gown by Laug is innovative and original. The hairstyles are romantic. The designer Oliver created, in collaboration with Laug, special hairnets in raffia to gather the hair lay it gracefully on the shoulders; they were often decorated in rhinestones, stars, or beads.
In the photo: white wedding dress in organza with embellishments and ribbons of silver lamé. (©André Laug)
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1973
André Laug became the preferred designer for national and international socialites. Among his clients were Audrey Hepburn, the American First Ladies Jackie Kennedy and Barbara Bush, Lee Radziwill, Diana Ross, Kathy Hilton, cosmetic entrepreneur Estée Lauder, Carrol Baker, Ira Fürstenberg, Mia d’Acquarone et de Riencourt, Anna and Alice Bulgari, Margareth Trudeau, Helietta Caracciolio, Mrs. Campbell (owner of the eponymous American brand), Rossella Falck, Paulette Goddard, Capucine and many others. On the runway the Woman by Laug exuded femininity unparalleled by other designers, sophisticated and luxurious: “In total contrast to how the majority of women dress today,” admonishes the designer for the pages of Vogue, “the fact that they need to move and work and are in a hurry isn’t a valid excuse for a disheveled appearance. An untidy appearance only masks laziness, physically and morally.”
In the photo: Audrey Hepburn Dotti photographed October 8, 1973 at the wedding reception for German Princess Teresa of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn with Spanish Count Luis Quintanilla. Audrey wore a silk polka dot evening gown from the 1973 S/S collection by André Laug (From the Tumblr account “The Fashion of Audrey”).
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19
The collections from 1974 were inspired by Russia and the Tzar. Rich fabrics and sober lines were the keys to success for Laug who created simple designs that elevated the women who wore them. As demonstrated in the feature dedicated to the “Parisian of Rome,” increasingly requested by the world’s socialites, in the December issue of Vogue: “Every time that, in New York , I wear a dress chosen in Rome by Laug, I am flooded with compliments” stated Anna Bulgari.
Left: Anna Bulgari wears a black skirt in pleated taffeta from the “Zarina” collection. In the center: millions of colored details sparkle on the black fabric of the dress for Lidia Cesarini Sforza (Photo by Elisabetta Catalno, ©Vogue-Condé Nast)
Right: the American actress Barbara Bach in an evening gown by Laug (Photo by Adolfo Tomeucci, ©Vogue-Condé Nast)74
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1975
A year of drastic changes in fashion and politics: Italy faces a new alliance between leftist party and catholics, while a new trend Punk arrived from England. Fashion’s response was in aggressive designs, begging the question: What was femininity in 1975? “A perfume that after the first sweet and languid notes enriches with notes even more dynamic, pungent, and perhaps slightly masculine”, wrote Vogue in their September issue. Laug responded on the runway with the creation of a feminine version of the tuxedo. “Now that we are celebrating the year of the woman,” he announced, “I would like to highlight this perfume of modern femininity: contradictory, slender and more provocative than yesterday.” Vogue dedicated an opening feature in the September issue, shot by famed British photographer David Bailey. His wife, model Marie Helvin, posed for Laug.
In the photo: A long and pointed silhouette, covered in black sequins and rhinestones. In place of a classic carnation on the bust, an embroidery in rhinestones in the shape of a snowflake (Photo by Daivd Bailey, ©Vogue-Condé Nast)
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1976
In New York, at Rizzoli on Fifth Avenue, Roberto Polo and Diana Vreeland, the notable editor of Vogue USA, organized an exhibition of “creative fashion”. Fashion designers and artists invited from all over the world brought works they created or selected exclusively for the exhibition. Italy was represented by Pino Lancetti, Valentino, and André Laug. In July Laug presented his collections for 1976 “ready-to-wear haute couture” (ready-to-wear crafted by hand available in various sizes) on a set furnished by Vogue next to the works of Michelangelo Pistoletto (photographed by Norman Parkinson). He continued on this path of simplicity, which had embarked in the previous season, to sweeten what the designer called “une certain femme” (a certain woman), alluding to the characters created by French writer Françoise Sagan. Without departing completely from the celebration of the “perfect mediterranean beauty,” Ornella Muti wore, in the December issue of Vogue, a long silk and taffetà gown designed by Laug.
Photo above: extra long blouse and micro top (Photo by Norman Parkinson, ©Vogue-Condé Nast). Bottom left: large red pinstripes on white for the silk dress and wool double overcoat (Photo by David Bailey, ©Vogue-Condé Nast). Bottom right: black dress with an embellished neckline ruffle (Photo by David Bailey, ©Vogue-Condé Nast)
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1977
Just two years passed after the initial presentation of the feminine tuxedo, which had inspired the path toward a more masculine cut. But the world and Italy had since changed and in the face of political aggravation and social conflicts (from 1977 to 1980 the Red Brigade intensified its terroristic acts blaming magistrates, journalists and businesses), fashion reacted with a romantic voluptuousity that sought to soften lines on all fronts.Without ever abandoning his clean and structured silhouette that defined his success, André Laug refined his style presenting the 1977 S/S collection with luxurious classics, this time softer and more colorful.
In the photo: full-length pleated skirt by André Laug Boutique (©André Laug)
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1978
The season was defined by the abundant use of marabou feathers, applied by André Laug to give a touch of glamour to his collection, renamed the “Chic Look”. The collection also influenced the designs he created for the Italian-French film Il Vizietto (“La cage aux folles”) conceptualized by costume designer Piero Tosi, who was nominated for best costume design at the 1980 Oscar Awards. Laug travelled to America to present his collections to his ever-adoring American clients.
Left: silver evening gown and white marabou feathers (©Vogue-Condé Nast) In the center: advertisement page for Laug with Elizabeth Arden in Vogue USA (©André Laug)
Below: the design selected by Piero Tosi and Ambra Danon and worn by actress Luisa Maneri, who in the film plays the wife of a French politician conservative (@EnricoQuinto on Instagram)
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André Laug celebrated his label’s tenth anniversary in Italy with an elegant party in Milan that drew prominent American buyers and international press. The atelier had grown immensely during these years and employed over one hundred full-time staff, who were highly respected in terms of work load and adherence to service hours during a time when it was not strictly regulated.
Left: the Vogue carnet detailing Laug’s party in Milan (©Vogue-Condé Nast)
Right: Marisa De Santis, the historic Master Tailor whom the French designer brought with him from Antonelli and accompanied him until the end
(©André Laug)
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19
He championed the season with structured designs and dramatic silhouettes. From the runways in Rome, all of them searching for refinement in form and texture, the Woman in Laug emerged as the most clean and pure. The S/S collection ushered in pointy details and a black and white palette. The 1980s are quickly approaching.
Left: black gown with slender lines on the runway in March. Right: André Laug gives his regards to the models at the end of the fashion show. (©André Laug)
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1980
Laug’s success in international markets, the United States in particular, is a commendable achievement: the designer opened a third atelier dedicated exclusively to orders destined for outside Italy and export, on Via Fuga in Rome, adding to Piazza di Spagna 81 (haute couture and cutting for prêt-à-porter) and Via della Croce 76 (boutique and prêt-à-porter production). On the runway, feminine lines and coy details, a proven formula drawn from the Frenchman of Italian high fashion.
In the photo: long black gown in silk gazar with a white lace application on the bust (Photo by David Bailey ©Vogue-Condé Nast)
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1981
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The world changed with the American Presidential election on January 20th with Ronald Reagan taking the Oval Office. In the world of fashion this change in the air was represented through concepts of hedonism, richness and redundancy. Without renouncing his clean stylistic touch Laug toyed with the destabilization of his structured lines by introducting asymmetry. For the S/S collection he developed a signature collection that featured the dress coat, refined by his signature attention to detail: folds of asymmetrical skirts, the use of fluffy, polka-dotted collars, pleated collarettes and an abundance of lace. The American market, which was already the largest market for Laug’s blouses, was enthusiastic for the new designs on the runway. The same year he was featured by Harper’s Bazaar in their March issue.
In the large photo above: strapless evening gown (Photo by Aurthur Elgort, ©André Laug). Right: the dress coat for the spring and fall (Photo by Bill Connors, ©Harper Bazaar-Hearst)
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1982
Laug drew critical acclaim on the international runways. It was “the despair of the press to forgo the obvious, and the delight of the clients who wont to be elegant without ever being boring,” wrote Vogue on Laug in their March issue. The magazine dedicated a feature spread to the designer, photographed by Arthur Elgort, and interpreted by the famous model Susan Hess (accompanied for the occasion by her managers Jerry and Eileen Ford, who came to Italy to meet the “Parisian of Rome”). Susan joined a long list of the world’s celebrity top models, including Pat Cleveland, Margaret Donahoe, Linda Evangelista, Jerry Hall, and Iman, to model for André Laug. In September the iconic photographer Helmut Newton realized a photo shoot of a short story written by Natalia Aspesi, always in Vogue, dedicated to the contemporary woman: models were dressed in Laug.
Susan Hess with André Laug in the atelier during the shooting. Hess in a knee-length dress in blue silk crêpe de Chine and pink roses (©Vogue-Condé Nast)
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1983
A collection “ninety-five percent feminine,” announced André Laug as he presented his haute couture collection at the beginning of the year. The remaining five percent was represented by the use of masculine fabrics, such as glen plaid (principe di Galles). Famous details included the rigid ruffle, the macramé lace, and the bow.
In the photo: American actress and model Jerry Hall, at the time married to Mick Jagger and now Rupert Murdoch’s wife, in a black evening gown (Photo by Barry McKinley, ©Vogue-Condé Nast)
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1984
Laug brough modern art to the runway with four designs inspired by Matisse. These models would be restyled and re-presented 25 years later under the eponymous label. The designer was at the apex of his success.
Left: the model “Matisse” on the runway. Right: the sketch drawn by the designer (©André Laug)
Below: André Laug (©André Laug)
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On December 16, André Laug passed away suddently from a heart attack in Rome; he was just 53 years old. The fashion world mourned the loss of their beloved “Parisian of Rome” who, against radical extravagance, had worked to bring the allure of sophistication, elegant structured designs and classic French influence to the world of haute couture.
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1985
Laug’s assistant, Olivier (Giancarlo Rossetti), took over as president of the label. “I’m not a designer,” he affirmed, “even if I’m capable of making a blouse, but a businessman.” Olivier called upon Laura della Croce di Dojola to work with him, since she was already a long-time client of Laug, making up a team of three designers and two Pr: their mission became to preserve the label Laug had made his life’s work. Laug hadn’t left only a team, but an entire atelier, laboratories, a staff and an archive that would make any Connaisseur giddy. His patrimony was this: an internationally celebrated brand, featured in all of the American publications; his gowns worn by the most famous international supermodels. “Mr. Laug always made style, more than fashion, his suits and coats could lead a life as a classic raincoat. The road he has paved for us is so precise that we can’t go wrong,” stated one of his collaborators. The company with 83 collections of haute couture and luxury pret-à-porter, began preparing to relaunch using the sketches the designer had left, a collection that consisted of more than 7,000.
In the photos: some sketches left by André Laug (©André Laug)
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19
In September, Vogue recounted the third collection presented after the death of the designer: “One consideration begs the truth: André Laug left a perfect script to a team that is definitely up to the task. The famous precise and impeccable style of the designer, relives every season. The Woman of André Laug is still distinguished for her femininity.”
In the photo: silk dress with train and draping for the summer collection (©Vogue-Condé Nast)86
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1987
From the vast collection of sketches left by André Laug, the founder’s successor, Olivier, developed a collection marked by a softer look with delicate femininity. He announced a line similar to their prêt-à-porter, dedicated to the late French designer: “André was an extraordinary creative, a man with an enormous dignity and an extreme sense of respect toward others,” he told Vogue, who interviewed him for their March issue. Meanwhile the brand began establishing itself in the Middle-East.
In the photo: a cashmere cloak created for the F/W collection (©Vogue-Condé Nast)>
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1988
The new prêt-à-porter by André Laug increasingly drew closer to a luxury product, practically haute couture. The atelier launched a new line of women’s fashion at a more accessible price relative to their principle line: the “André Laug Chic,” and was distributed to nearly 230 boutiques in Europe. Japan and North America, however, maintained the strongest markets for haute couture. The label continued to be represented by the world’s top models, like Linda Evangelista. The model delivered her extraordinary interpretation of the Laug fashion line, as contemporary as ever.
In the photo: Linda Evangelista in a taffeta micropattern raincoat (©Vogue-Condé Nast)
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1989
The Berlin wall came down. And in the world of fashion Liberty was displayed on the runway, with an emphasis on the superfluous and moreness. The Woman in Laug was provocative, revealed her back and showed it off with an exaggerated bow.
In the photo: Silk fourreau photographed for the pages of Vogue (©Vogue-Condé Nast)
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19
The label debuted on the small screen: atelier André Laug was responsible for the signature yellow ensemble worn by Lee Skelton Borghese in the television commercial campaign for Italian chocolatier, Ferrero Rocher. The commercial was an overnight success in Italy, airing continuously until 1998.
In the photo: on set for the Ferrero Rocher commercial with Lee Skelton Borghese (©André Laug)90
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1991
The atelier Laug launched the F/W collection 1990-91 with 58 capes dedicated to “the ladies in Rolls”: double cloaks, silver velours-chiffon blouses and evening gowns with long sleeves and marabou feathers.
In the photo: sketches from the 1990-91 F/W collection
(©André Laug)
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1995
The label continued to gain success around the world. On the runway in Rome to present the S/S collection, next to reserved haute couture collections, atelier Laug presented flowy, pleated dresses made from 16m of floral fabric, double-breasted coats and evening gowns, chiffon blouses lined with silk cady fabric, which sold for L3,000,000 (approx. $1,800) in boutiques in New York, Washington, Palo Alto, Houston and Palm Beach. “We are the last, along with Yves Saint Laurent, who can ask such figures. Rather than sell a coat for L1 million I’d prefer to swallow it,” said Olivier, the successor to Laug.
In the photo: vintage dress from the André Laug private collection
(©André Laug)
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1999The United States were the point of reference for atelier André Laug: flowy pants, gold and silver accets, that bring back memories of the Cotton Club in America, even influences from the Jazz period with plenty of lace. The collection was well received, resulting in a boom of transatlantic orders.
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20
The impeccable style of André Laug combined with Oliver’s inspiration, continued to establish itself on the runway.
In the photos: the models with Olivier at the conclusion of the July haute couture fashion show (©André Laug)00
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2005
Olivier, after twenty years of leading the company and reinterpreting the style of André Laug, passed away in Rome. The atelier continues to take careful measure of the founder’s influence and that of Olivier, ensuring their legacy lives on.
(©André Laug)
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2009
After twenty years, the fashion house André Laug returned to Piazza di Spagna.
(©André Laug)
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20
Laug comes around to Laug. for more than forty years from the label’s establishment, the fashion house continues to be a staple in fine Italian haute couture in Italy and abroad. In addition to its haute couture collections, the robe de mariée is prized for its similar delicate attention to detail and signature Laug silhouettes.
In the photos: two design sketches for wedding gowns (©André Laug)14
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20
The atelier moved to Rampa Mignanelli, directly adjacent the Spanish Steps and Piazza di Spagna.
(©André Laug)15
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2016
The most recent collection celebrates the Worldly Women of Laug who wear chic as much an attitude as fashion; a traveler who packs style and her contemporary, timeless self, all over the world.
In the photo: Models Edmée di Robilant and Denisa Kucik in two evening gowns from the S/S collection (©André Laug)