Guy Laroche
Guy Laroche () was a French fashion designer (16 July 1921 – 17 February 1989) and founder of the eponymous company. Laroche was born in La Rochelle, and began his career in millinery. From 1949, Laroche worked for Jean Dessès, eventually becoming his assistant. In 1955, he visited the U.S. to investigate new ready-to-wear manufacturing methods. In 1956 or 1957, he founded a high-fashion atelier at 37 Avenue Franklin Roosevelt, Paris. His first collection was favorably received, and within it he reintroduced vibrant colors such as pink, orange, coral, topaz, and turquoise. His clothes also featured plunging  neck and back lines. Traditional elegant color combinations remained a staple in his designs as well. Known as being humble and gracious—as opposed to the haughty nature of most Parisian designers—he designed haute-couture, but practical clothing for women. For the American market, he was one of the first to create separates. As an example, a jacket to a three-piece woolen suit of black and several shades of blue is shown in the adjacent image. Along with the excellent workmanship throughout the garment, the exact matching of the pattern on the front, back, sleeves, and pockets marks  the high quality, haute-couture, of the distinctive garment, although it was designed for practical use. The rest of the suit is solid black, with a skirt of the same material, and a silk blouse. In 1961, he moved to larger quarters in a townhouse at 29 avenue Montaigne, Paris, opened a boutique there, and introduced his first ready-to-wear collection. In 1966, Laroche introduced "Fidji", his first women's fragrance, designed men's ready-to-wear, and opened the Guy Laroche Monsieur boutique. He created other fragrances, such as: Laroche died in Paris on February 17, 1989, at  the age of 67. In 2005, Hilary Swank won an oscar for Best Actress wearing a Guy Laroche dress, at the time designed by Herve Leger Leroux. In November 2007, Franco-Swedish designer Marcel Marongiu took over as Artistic Director of Guy Laroche. Marcel Marongiu completed his third successful runway show with the AU/WI 2009 Collection.