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The French designer of Italian origin Emanuel Ungaro died Saturday December 21 in Paris at the age of 86 years. REUTERS / Philippe Wojazer

Haute couture has just lost one of its big names. Emanuel Ungaro, the French designer of Italian origin, died on Saturday December 21 at the age of 86.

Bright colors, mixtures of materials , Emanuel Ungaro boldly superimposes striped checks, pea flowers and thus asserts his style in the 1960s. He was also the first to juxtapose a long tunic or a coat-vest with pants in fluid materials that avoid weighing down the silhouette.

Second of an Italian immigrant family of six children, the young man first learned from his tailor father in Aix-en-Provence. But very quickly, he went to Paris at the age of 23, where he met Christophe Balenciaga , the only master he recognized. He worked six years with the Spanish couturier, then a year with Courrèges, before launching his own house in 1965 in Paris, avenue Mac-Mahon in the XVIIth arrondissement.

Catherine Deneuve or Anouk Aimée

Over the years, Emanuel Ungaro has built an empire. He dresses stars like Catherine Deneuve or Anouk Aimée. He created his ready-to-wear brand for women and then for men, his luxury products: perfumes, shoes, glasses. He retired from the fashion world in 2004. The fashion he marked with his sensual and colorful style.

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