Designers, Dignitaries Remember French Icon Brigitte Bardot

by · WWD

View ALL 9 Photos

France, from leading dignitaries to designers and more, on Sunday mourned the death of Brigitte Bardot.

The actress, singer and animal rights activist, whose sensual style defined French fashion in the ‘50s and ‘60s and helped usher in the sexual revolution, died at the age of 91.

But Bardot in later life also became a divisive figure for her support of far-right politics. She was convicted five times of making racist remarks, a criminal offense in France.

French actress Brigitte Bardot at London Airport, Sept. 2, 1966. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)Getty Images

Bardot, who became a global sex symbol via roles in films such as “And God Created Woman” and “Contempt,” put Saint-Tropez on the map and popularized her uniform of sailor stripe shirts and ballet flats. 

Her look was unusual in the pristine celebrity circles she inhabited. She often walked around barefoot, wore miniskirts to the Élysée Palace and sparked many an imitation of her falsely messy blonde locks and black cat’s-eye eyeliner.

That look has become a byword for French girl style and continues to influence designers like Hedi Slimane, who showcased his spring 2023 collection for Celine in Saint-Tropez.

“Bardot forever,” Alexis Mabille wrote in an Instagram post on Sunday.

Model Claudia Schiffer said she was “heartbroken” to learn of her death.

“I [have] always [been] inspired by her devotion to animals, listening to her music, the glamour of her films, and her captivating photo shoots. She is unforgettable and to be compared to her has been one of my greatest honors,” she wrote. 

Simon Porte Jacquemus, meanwhile, explained last year that he decided to stage his 15th anniversary show at Casa Malaparte, the modernist Italian villa set on a clifftop in Capri, because of its central role in “Contempt,” which he described as one of his favorite films. 

Directed by Jean-Luc Godard, it features Bardot sunbathing nude on the rooftop of the red, arrow-shaped building. 

Pierre Balmain designed costumes for Bardot in “And God Created Woman,” cementing her sex-kitten persona, but the brand she was most closely associated with was Repetto, whose signature ballet flats she wore in the film.   

In a series of Stories on Instagram, the French brand recalled how Bardot, then a young dancer, walked into founder Rose Repetto’s workshop in 1956 and asked her to design a city shoe as light as a ballet slipper. 

This marked the creation of the dancewear brand’s first footwear for outdoor use — the Cendrillon model that remains a staple in its collection. 

“Some personalities embody the very essence of Repetto. Bridging artistic heritage and contemporary vision, these iconic figures have shaped the house’s history, giving life to its unique and timeless style, among them, Brigitte Bardot,” it said.   

Related Articles

People

Richard S. Madris, Longtime Apparel Industry Leader, Dies at 81

Mens Sportswear

Save Khaki United Founder David Mullen Dead at 64

Brigitte BardotParis Internationale Presse/Fairchild Archive

Denim brand Seafarer, another Bardot favorite, used archival photos of the blonde bombshell to promote its revival in 2013. She also licensed her name to a ready-to-wear collection, launched in 2011.

French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to the film star, often referred to simply by her initials B.B., whose face was used as a model for the bust of Marianne, the symbol of the French Republic. 

“Through her films, her voice, her dazzling fame, her initials, her sorrows, her generous devotion to animals, and a face that became Marianne, Brigitte Bardot embodied a life of freedom. She represented a French way of being and a universal brilliance. She moved us deeply. Today, we mourn a legend of the century,” Macron said in a statement. 

After retiring from acting in the early ‘70s, she dedicated herself to animal welfare through the Brigitte Bardot Foundation and frequently made headlines for controversial statements aligned with the far right. 

You May Also Like

Famous for her tumultuous love life, she was married four times: to director Roger Vadim; actor Jacques Charrier, with whom she had a son, Nicolas; millionaire playboy Gunter Sachs, and Bernard d’Ormale, a former adviser to National Front founder Jean-Marie Le Pen.