CHRONOLOGY

Exhibition

Rudi Gernreich: BOLD
Palmer and Mull Galleries, July 3, 2008, to May 31, 2009
Dr. Anne Bissonnette, Curator
   
   

1922
Birth of Rudolf Gernreich on August 8, 1922, in Vienna, Austria. Only son of Elisabeth and Siegmund Gernreich, a hosiery manufacturer who commits suicide when his son is eight.¹ Initiated to high fashion in a dress shop run by his aunt, Hedwig Mueller.²

1938
Flees Europe in 1938 with his mother to escape Jewish persecution. Settles in Los Angeles and becomes an American citizen in 1943 at age 21.³ Attends Los Angeles City College and the Los Angeles Art Center School.⁴ Early employment in a mortuary and at RKO film studios.⁵

1942 - ca. 1947-1949
Enthralled by a performance by Martha Graham, he joins the Lester Horton Modern Dance Troupe and works as costume designer and, occasionally, as dancer.⁶ Concurrently, he freelances designing textiles for Hoffman California Fabrics.⁷

1949 - 1951
Lives in New York. Works for George Carmel, a coat and suit firm.⁸ Abhors the French fashion tyranny. Let go in 1951, he meets dress shop owner Hattie Carnegie who sends him back to California and starts buying samples he sends her.⁹

• First experimental collection, 1949 ¹⁰

1951-1959
Employed in 1951 by Morris Nagel Versatogs but refuses to play it safe.¹¹ From ca. 1951 to 1959, forms a partnership with manufacturer Walter Bass.¹² Succeeds with swimsuits, belted shift dresses and simple knit styles.

• Swimsuits without interior foundations for Bass, 1952-1959 ¹³
• Swimwear for Westwood Knitting Mills, 1955-1960 ¹⁴
• Menswear informal jackets, 1955 (in Life, 1956) ¹⁵
• Sports Illustrated's American Sportswear Design Award, 1956 ¹⁶
• Designs shoes, hats and stockings, 1957-1959 ¹⁷

1960 - 1968
Creation of G. R. Designs, Inc. in 1960 with Los Angeles offices and New York showrooms.¹⁸ Designs many collections; his own, one for Harmon Knitwear, accessory lines and others.¹⁹

• Coty Awards, 1960, 1963, 1966, 1967 (Hall of Fame) ²⁰
• Tweed maxi coat over a short tweed skirt and knee-high vinyl boots, 1963
• Topless swimsuit for Harmon Knitwear, 1964 ²¹
• Natural-fitting "No Bra" bra for Exquisite Form, 1964 ²²
• See-through chiffon shirt, 1964 (pre-Yves Saint Laurent) ²³
• Basic Black short abstract fashion film featuring animal print "total look" ensembles, 1966
• Montgomery Ward collections, starting 1966 ²⁴
• Cover of Time magazine, 1967

1968 - 1970
Except for his Harmon line, takes a year off in 1968 "to think things through" as fashion enters a nostalgic period.²⁵ Returns with more collections that reflect the times and forecast the future.

• "Back-to-school" collection in military style accessorized with rifles and dog tags. Inspired by the 1970 shootings at Kent State University, October 1970 preview of resort 1971 collection ²⁶
• Predicts unisex clothes on hairless bodies in 2000, Life 1970

1971 - 1985
Ends his continuous fashion production but goes on experimenting in and out of the world of fashion.²⁷ Makes licensing deals and designs the "Moon City" costumes for the series Space: 1999.²⁸

• Furniture for Fortress, quilts for Knoll International, 1971
• The Thong unisex and bottomless swimsuit, 1974 ²⁹
• Unisex fragrance for American Essence, 1974 ³⁰
• Dance costumes for the Bella Lewitzky Dance Company: Inscape (1974), Pas de Bach (1977), Rituals (1979), Changes and Choices (1981), Confines (1982) ³¹
• Built-in-jewelry clothing collection, 1975 ³²
• Jockey-style briefs, boxer shorts and tank tops for women for Lily of France, 1976 ³³
• Leotards and body wear for Capezio, 1978
• Home furnishings for Mikasa, 1979 ³⁴
• Last knitwear collection, 1981 ³⁵
• The Pubikini, revealing a shaved and poison-green colored pubic area, 1985 ³⁶

1985
Dies of cancer on April 21, 1985, at age 62.³⁷ Although never "out," he was a founding member of the Mattachine Society in 1950. Upon his death, he and his partner of thirty-one years, Oreste Pucciani, leave a trust to the American Civil Liberties Union "to provide for litigation and education in the area of lesbian and gay rights."³⁸

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¹ For earliest mention of his father's death, see Gloria Steinem, "Gernreich's Progress: Or, Eve Unbound," The New York Times Magazine, 31 January 1965, 21. For name of his parents, see Bernadine Morris, "Rudi Gernreich, Avant-Garde Designer, Dies," The New York Times, 22 April 1985, B12. For mention on his father's suicide, see Peggy Moffitt, The Rudi Gernreich Book (New York: Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., 1991), 12.
² Moffitt, 12.
³ Nina Hyde, "Gernreich the Outrageous; After the Gasps, His Ideas Changed the Face of Fashion," The Washington Post, 28 April 1985, http://www.lexisnexis.com.
⁴ For schooling, see Richard Pearson, "Fashion Designer Rudi Gernreich Dies at 62," The Washington Post, 22 April 1985, http://www.lexisnexis.com; and Morris, "Rudi Gernreich."
⁵ The work at RKO was in the publicity department but it is mentioned that he "once replaced a friend who was a sketch artist for costume designer Edith Head." See Moffitt, 12.
⁶ For Gernreich quote about Graham's influence and his work as a costume designer and occasional performer, see Steinem, 21; and "Up, Up and Away," Time, 1 December 1967, 78. For 1942 entrance at Horton and six year stay, see Morris, "Rudi Gernreich." For departure in 1949 from Horton, see Moffitt, 12.
⁷ Moffitt, 12.
⁸ Ibid.
⁹ Ibid, 13. Upon his return to California, he also designs costumes for a movie that was not successful, probably A Life of Her Own (1950). See Steinem, 22; and Internet Movie Database, "Rudi Gernreich," http://www.imdb.com/name/ nm0314648/.
¹⁰ "Up, Up and Away," 78.
¹¹ Moffitt, 13.
¹² For 1951 to 1959 Bass references, see Morris, "Rudi Gernreich;" Steinem, 22; and Pearson. For 1952, see Moffitt, 14; Lapham, "The Great Idea Boy," Saturday Evening Post, 13 February, 1965, 79; and "Up, Up and Away," 80.
¹³ Moffitt, 15
¹⁴ Ibid.
¹⁵ Ibid, 16.
¹⁶ Moffitt, 15; Pearson.
¹⁷ Moffitt, 16.
¹⁸ For "G.R. Design, Inc.," see Moffitt, 17. For reference to "Rudi Gernreich Inc.," see Pearson. According to Christina Johnson of The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, Gernreich established his own design company in 1960, naming it "G.R. Designs." By 1967 at the latest, the name was changed to "Rudi Gernreich, Inc." Christina Johnson, e-mail message to the author, 12 June 2008.
¹⁹ Harmon Knitwear of Marinette, Wisconsin, might have also had some production in California as a red halter dress (KSUM 1993.74.17) and a navy double-breasted pea coat (KSUM 1993.74.59) in the Kent State University Museum collection have labels that read "Rudi Gernreich design for Harmon Knitwear California."
²⁰ For 1960 swimwear design, see Moffitt, 17. For 1963 women's wear award known as the Winnie for his animal print "Total Look," see Moffitt, 18, 121. For 1966 award, see Moffitt, 23. For 1967 Fashion Hall of Fame award, see Moffitt, 24; and Morris, "Rudi Gernreich."
²¹ Hyde, "Gernreich the Outrageous."
²² Pearson.
²³ Noah James, "A Topless Rumpus." The Globe and Mail (Toronto), 3 September 1985, http://www.lexisnexis.com.
²⁴ Moffitt, 22.
²⁵ For Harmon details, see Moffitt, 26. For quote, see Morris, "Rudi Gernreich."
²⁶ For Kent State inspiration, see Moffitt, 30. For "back-to-school" appellation by Gernreich's model Léon Bing, see Moffitt, 188. The militaristic style was also referred to as statement on women's equality. In a conference given at the Smithsonian in 1979, Gernreich said that ""I did the military look in the late 1960s because some designers were making Scarlett O'Hara clothes, which I thought was an insult to women when they were becoming totally equal to men." See Nina S. Hyde, "Back in Fashion." The Washington Post, 22 November 1979, http://www.lexisnexis.com. According to Nina Hyde, "Gernreich's small collection for Harmon Knitwear in 1972, accessorized with rifles, cartridge belts and ID tags" was called by Gernreich "a salute to women who served in their country's army, as in Israel." See Hyde, "Gernreich the Outrageous."
²⁷ Bernadine Morris states that he was not involved full-time in fashion since 1968. See Morris, "Rudi Gernreich." Nina Hyde in "Gernreich the Outrageous," noted that he "stopped designing collections in 1972."
²⁸ Referred to as "the first unisex perfume" in Pearson. For licensees, including perfume, see Hyde, "Gernreich the Outrageous." For Space: 1999, see Morris, "Rudi Gernreich." For Capezio, see Susan Cheever Cowley with Lisa Whitman, "Tight Makes Right," Newsweek, 13 February 1978, 67; and Nina S. Hyde, Fashion Notes, The Washington Post, 11 February 1979, http://www.lexisnexis.com, which also mentions home furnishings. For furniture, see Hyde, "Back in Fashion."
²⁹ For 1974, see Moffitt, 32, and Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender & Queer Encyclopedia, s.v. "Gernreich, Rudi," (by Joe A. Thomas), http://www.glbtq.com/arts/gernreich_r. html (accessed June 10, 2008). For 1975: see "The Bottom Line." Newsweek, 13 January 1975, 75; "The Jock Look." Newsweek, 19 January 1976, 48.
³⁰ Moffitt, 32; Pearson; and Hyde "Gernreich the Outrageous."
³¹ The ones that generated the most interest were his nylon-lycra stretch "duotards" (one garment for two dancers) for Inscape. See Moffitt, 32.
³² Moffitt, 32, 236; and "Died," Newsweek, 6 May 1985, 74.
³³ "The Jock Look." Newsweek, 19 January 1976, 48; Noah James, "A Topless Rumpus." See also Stacie Stukin, "Reviving Rudi: A Stunning Show Salutes Renegade Fashion Designer Rudi Gernreich, Who Dreamed Up the Thong - and the Mattachine Society," The Advocate, 25 September 2001, http://www.ebscohost.com.
³⁴ Nina Hyde, "Fashion Notes," The Washington Post, 11 February 1979, http://www.lexisnexis.com.
³⁵ Moffitt, 31, 32.
³⁶ Ibid, 33.
³⁷ Referred to as cancer of the lungs by Moffitt, 33; and Newsweek, 6 May 1985, 74. Referred to as cancer of the adrenal glands by Nina Hyde, "Gernreich the Outrageous."
³⁸ Moffitt, 14; Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender & Queer Encyclopedia, s.v. "Gernreich, Rudi," (by Joe A. Thomas), http://www.glbtq.com/arts/gernreich_r. html (accessed June 10, 2008) and Stukin, "Reviving Rudi," 74.