Emanuel Ungaro French fashion designer has died aged 86 in Paris on Saturday. His health had declined for the past two years and he was in a weakened state, his family told media.
Born to a family of immigrants he once memorably declared, “One should not wear a dress, one should live in it.” Ungaro was a giant of old-school fashion. He moved to Paris when he was 22 and learned his trade under the great Spanish couturier Cristóbal Balanciaga. According to his former brand’s website his time training with Balenciaga taught him ‘rigor and perfectionism.’Describing himself as a ‘sensual obsessive’ he founded his label in 1960’s.
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Bright colour and mixed prints, creating clothes that had a sensuous old-school glamour was the USP of his brand. Along with his peer Yves Saint Laurent, Ungaro was seen as someone who pioneered Ready-to-Wear and established it as an alternative to couture. The label currently extends into home decor, perfumes, shoes and more.
The label was bought in 1996 by the Ferragamo family. The label was at the height of its popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. Later, Ungaro sold the label in 2005 to businessman Asim Abdullah.
According to AFP, he had spent the last two years of his life in a ‘weakened’ state of health.
