Fashion Designer Sonia Rykiel Dies at 86

Early this morning, Sonia Rykiel passed away at her home in Paris after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease, reports The New York Times. Her legacy and brand are carried on by her daughter Nathalie Rykiel, who serves as the fashion house’s artistic director.

Best known for her rebellious fashion sense, Rykiel began designing clothing in 1961. At a time when women’s clothing concealed pregnancy, she was inspired by her own pregnancy to design maternity clothing that celebrated pregnancy, with fitted bodices and flowing skirts.

Rykiel was regarded as a fashion rule-breaker, going against flighty runway trends and paving the way for her own aesthetic. She highlighted pants when skirts were trending and bold colors when muted tones were in.

“I think creativity is inside you,” Rykiel told The Times Magazine in 1982. “If you have something to tell, you expose it. I never went to any design school. I was so strong in my thinking and my way of seeing fashion, I knew exactly what I wanted. I said to myself, ‘I have no limits.’ ”

Rykiel’s interest in fashion first began when she became a window dresser at the age of 17 for a Paris dry goods store, where she was first able to work creatively with fabrics.

VMSD covered Sonia Rykiel’s Paris flagship store design in June 2015.