Today we lost a member of the Fashion Family, Sonia Rykiel. In 1962, Rykiel then created her first maternity dresses and a tiny sweater, called the Poor Boy Sweater, which she started selling from her husband's label "Laura". The Poor Boy Sweater made the cover of French Elle Magazine, and brought Rykiel fame. Actress Audrey Hepburn bought 14 sweaters in every colour. In 1972, Rykiel was dubbed "Queen of Knits" by Women's Wear Daily. She later became the first designer to put seams on the outside of a garment, and to print words on her sweaters. In particular, she favoured long clinging sweaters or small cropped pullovers, large rolled-back cuffs and long shawls. Her color palette usually features beige, grey, dark blue, and charcoal. She has also created a range of fragrances of which '7e Sens' was the first. In December 2009, Rykiel and H&M introduced "Sonia Rykiel pour H&M", two masstige operations with the Swedish retailer. An event was held at the Grand Palais in Paris to celebrate the collection. Rykiel died at her home in Paris during the morning of 25 August 2016, aged 86. Jean-Marc Loubier stated "It is a sad day but Sonia Rykiel leaves behind her an extraordinary legacy." From all of us here at Artists Within thank you Sonia for you great legacy and life, may you rest in peace. XOXO
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