Gernreich sympathetic to the individual

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33966, 6 October 1975, Page 6

Gernreich sympathetic to the individual

(From

LEONE STEWART)

WELLINGTON. “Women have been gift-wrapped fo r men.” With that quote, worthy of “Ms” magazine, the American designer, Rudi G ernreich, who is in Wellington to judge the annual Benson and Hedges fashion desig n awards describes the processing that has often been passed off as harmless following o f fashion.

Influenced no doubt by his Viennese mother, who he has described as “a very evolved and intelligent, modern, well-educated woman,” Gernreich has a lot of sympathy with women who want to be thought of as individuals. Of all the designers he has probably been the most misunderstood by the women’s movement.

“Women’s Lib attitudes have had a good influence on fashion,” he said in Wellington yesterday. "The initial rejection of all fashion was a symptom of a very new movement. That has now passed.” But a new independence among women has, he believes, endured. Only a very few women now need the security of wearing a designer label. They will not be dictated to any longer. Does that leave Gernreich out of a job? No way, he would have said, if he were inclined to trendy phrases—which this articulate, precisely-spoken man is not. He does worry, though, that fashion — to which he has devoted his life — is now very much a frill, a some-

times expensive fringebenefit. And he gains great satisfaction from helping to finance a programme of radical mental health therapy in his home city of Los Angeles. “However, people do still need designers to create for them,” he said. “But now they want guidance, not dictatorship. I try to do that by not over-imposing my own particular stamp on clothes.” Gone are the days, apparently, when a woman wanted a designer’s initials — often literally — all over her wardrobe. Nor do women, and men, want to look expensively dressed. Gernreich explains the “blue jeans syndrome” as a desire to be anonymous. If you have got money these days, it seems that the last place you want to put it is on your back. No longer is it in good taste to look expensively dressed, nor is it very sensible. “In. the world’s big cities, especially in the United States, no-one wants to provoke psychological or physicla hostility by showing wealth. “People are now so exposed, through the mass media, to those with very affluent life-styles, that second-rate existences are no longer acceptable to them.” In other words, if you don’t want to be “ripped off” don’t wear your mink to the supermarket. Processes to perfect “third-dimensional moulding” are now being worked on in the United States. “We are now working on fabrics that can be moulded into shape so that a garment needs no seams,” he said. “That’s where the future lies. Unless we can cut costs people will not be able to afford good-quality clothing.” What of designers in a future of “pre-cast” clothing. Gernreich predicts an era of creative engineering in design. “Designers will have to learn a great deal more about technology,” he said. Which would put Rudi Gernreich ahead of the field again. This gentle, almost shy, man who has helped women into “natural” clothing, is a futuristic designer.