Happy birthday to the legendary @rudigernreich , who would have turned 100 today! The Austrian-American dancer and fashion designer is widely known for his astonishing bathing-suits that are still worn today. In 1938 he left his hometown together with his mother, in order to build up a new life in Los Angeles. There, he started his studies to then worked as a dancer and later as a fashion designer. His revolutionary ideas made him world-famous. Already in 1950, Gernreich co-founded the first homesexual rights movement, the Mattachine Society. Vanity fair named him the “fashion prophet“, as he was ahead of his time in several ways. His inventions include the “monokini”, the thong and the underwired bra for women. He understood the body that wore his clothes and tailored a clear understanding how the body moves and how much freedom is needed. Until he published his revolutionary Unisex-project in 1970, had designed primarily swimming costumes for women. However, with his Unisex-project he designed costumes for both sexes and revolutionized the fashion world. He thus countered the sexualization of the normal body. Last but not less important, he invented the "total look". This meant that his designs in his fashion shows were not just about the clothes, but it went beyond that. He designed matching underwear, tights, shoes, bags and even chose perfumes to go with each collection, something that is common on today's catwalks but came from the Austrian designer himself. In 1985 Gernreich was diagnosed with cancer and only a few months later he passed away. Today we would have turned 100 years old, and we want to remember him as the genius that he was. Alice Springs, Rudi Gernreich, Los Angeles 1985, courtesy Helmut Newton Foundation #rudigernreich #happybirthday #100years #fashion #legend #iconic #man #designer #queer #pride #revolutionary #helmutnewton #helmutnewtonfoundation