Fernando Sánchez

Fernando Sánchez (August 9 1935 - June 28 2006) was a Spanish fashion designer. He was known for his provocative lingerie collections, which, though designed for elegant boudoirs, were often worn in public. Sanchez was awarded several Coty fashion awards, as well as a Council of Fashion Designers of America Award in 1981.

Sanchez was born into a wealthy family in Antwerp, Belgium. His father died when he was very young. When Sanchez was in his teens, he would go with his mother to Paris to see Jacques Fath's designs. Later, he sent a portfolio to Fath, who recommended him to the École de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture, a fashion school in Paris. There, he ended up a classmate of Yves Saint Laurent. While St. Laurent would later revolutionize how women dressed during the day, Sanchez would revolutionize how women dressed at night.

In 1960, inspired by the movie "West Side Story", he moved to New York City fifteen days after watching it. [Wendy Goodman, [http://www.newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/shopping/homedesign/greatroom/10419/ "Scenes From a Classic Fourteen"] , "New York", Nov. 15, 2004] Sanchez started his own company in 1974,Fact|date=April 2007 where he introduced techniques normally used in dress construction to slips and caftans, making underwear resemble outerwear. He did not deem his work to be merely lingerie, and it was not treated as such by the fashion world. His fashion shows were as highly attended as those of more conventional designers. His work foreshadowed the mainstream acceptance of lingerie-like clothing in the 1990s.

Sanchez later worked for Nina Ricci, Christian Dior (where St. Laurent hired him to design lingerie), the New York lingerie company Warner's, and Yalla Inc.

He died June 28, 2006 from cardiac arrest arising from complications of leishmaniasis, a disease transmitted by sand fly bites.Wilson, Eric. [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/03/arts/design/03sanchez.html "Fernando Sanchez, 70, Designer of Lingerie as Outerwear."] New York Times (July 3, 2006).]

References