Louis Féraud (13 February 1921 – 28 December 1999) is perhaps best known for his sunny, heavily embroidered clothes. The designer said of his work, ‘I live in the joy of being surrounded by women, of somehow directing their destiny, in so far as their destiny depends on a note of excess‘. In 1955, Féraud opened his first boutique in Cannes. He had dressed the young Brigitte Bardot in an off-the-shoulder, white piqué frock; 600 copies of this dress were sold and Féraud’s success was established. Grace Kelly, Ingrid Bergman and Christian Lacroix’s mother were also customers.
Féraud opened a boutique in Paris where he began to produce couture alongside prêt-à-porter, and he and his wife were dubbed ‘The Gypsies’ because of their bright, Midi-inspired look.
And just to give an example of his work, here’s a wonderful advertising campaign for his Mexican Collection for Spring/Summer 1968. This is a huge two-page spread so I’ve had to attach both pages together as best I could. I’ve shown the pages separately further down so you can see more of the detailing on these fabulous, sunny clothes. Some of these prints remind me so much of Emilio Pucci designs of the same era. What do you think? This range also provides a great example of how, during the 1960s, designers were using newly developed synthetic fabrics to great effect.
Louis Feraud Mexican Collection 1968
Something blazing happened down Mexico way. Louis Feraud with blazing Mexican colours, with glowing Mexican designs. And from this world of the big, bright sun, he brings Sun-God prints in fluid, flowing, sun-worshiping Banlon! . . . for the Sun-Gods (and the Sun-Girls)
Louis Feraud MEXICAN COLLECTION – BAN LON featherweights in BRI NYLON.
‘Ban-Lon‘ is a trademarked, multistrand, continuous-filament synthetic yarn used in the retail clothing industry. It is artificially crimped in order to achieve greater bulk than ordinary yarns.
‘Bri-Nylon‘ is a trademarked name by ICI. It’s the joining of two words, ‘British’ and ‘Nylon’.
Please note: These are original scans from British magazine ‘FASHION’, dated April 1968. If you’d like to use any of the images, please contact me and link back to my website and blog. Thank you.
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Filed under: Catwalk Creative | Tagged: 60s designers, 60s fashion, Banlon, bri nylon, Louis Féraud, mexican collection, sun worshipping | Leave a Comment »
