Claude Montana (1947–2024), era-defining fashion designer

Claude Montana was a French fashion designer whose big-shouldered designs were formative to 1980s fashion.

• Died: February 23, 2024 (Who else died on February 23?) 
• Details of death: Died in France at the age of 76.
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Claude Montana’s legacy

Montana is credited with reinventing the French fashion world alongside his friend and contemporary, Thierry Mugler (1948–2022), in the late 1970s and early ‘80s. They organized big, fun fashion shows designed to appeal to the public rather than the French fashion elite. And as Montana charmed the public with his fashion shows, he influenced them, creating wildly popular looks in leather, cashmere, and silk, with broad shoulders tapering to narrow waistlines. The power suits designed by Montana became a signature look of the 1980s, and he was the toast of the fashion world for a time, nicknamed “King of the Shoulder Pad” for the style he revolutionized.

Having founded his own fashion house, House of Montana, the designer also collaborated with the French luxury line House of Lanvin in the early 1990s. After a difficult start, he produced a collection for 1991 that became a modern classic.

Montana’s elevated status didn’t last, and not simply because of changing tastes. After a surprising marriage to model Wallis Franken in 1993 – Montana was openly gay, and some speculated that the heterosexual wedding was in service of publicity – he began to falter. And after Franken’s death by suicide in 1996, he became increasingly reclusive. He left his fashion house in 1997 and only occasionally created new styles in later years.

Notable quote

“When I choose a fabric, it has to be a living thing. What matters is the way it falls, the way it feels to the touch and the association of unusual colours. If a particular shade doesn’t work, then I’ll dye the sample.” —from a 2015 interview for Glass

Tributes to Claude Montana

Full obituary: The New York Times

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