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When someone can be recognised by their hair alone, it's a sign that they have attained cult status. Karl Lagerfeld has his trademark ponytail and Anna Wintour her signature bob, but Parisian designer and Left Bank legend Sonia Rykiel outdoes them both with her crimped mane of bonfire-red hair.
When I meet the designer at her bohemian St Germain apartment, it's immediately obvious why her incandescent tresses, set off by fine white skin and hauntingly high cheekbones, inspired several designers' tributes at Rykiel's 40th anniversary show recently. For the climax of the event, organised by her daughter Nathalie, 30 models came out wearing Rykiel-themed looks by renowned designers. Martin Margiela created a dress made of frizzy orange fur while a
flame-haired model sported a jumper dress with giant knitting needles by Jean-Paul Gaultier. "I was so surprised," Rykiel says. "I saw all these models dressed like me and I thought what is that? It was crazy. Such a fantastic surprise."
The designer's career is also being marked by a major retrospective at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris. The exhibition explores the Rykiel mythology through videos, clothes and photographs by the likes of Dominique Isserman and Sarah Moon.
Rykiel's hair is just one of many familiar motifs that she has made her own over the years; stripes, whorled corsages, glitter, quirky knitwear, slogans and pop images such as cherries and hearts all immediately evoke her off-beat aesthetic. She is often referred to as the "thinking woman's designer", but the daydreaming woman's designer might be just as apt a description. Hers isn't so much a rigorous, intellectual label as one with a sense of whimsy and humour that has characterised her work over and above an observance of trends. Women love her clothes because they are imaginative, sexy and fun - qualities reflected in the mood of the models on her catwalks.
Rykiel is one of the few designers who actually encourages her models to look cheerful. "I say smile, look happy, pick a man in the audience and look at him like this," she says miming the most coquettish of expressions and tossing her hair in a manner that suddenly takes off about 60 of her well-maintained 78 years.
