Fashion designer Hervé Leroux — the man who launched the celebrity-beloved label Hervé Léger and its iconic bandage dresses — has died.
His death, at age 60, was announced today by the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, according to WWD.
The cause of death is has not yet been confirmed, though a source reported that his passing was unexpected and occurred Wednesday night or early Thursday morning.
Passing: Hervé Leroux, formerly known as Hervé Léger and the namesake of the famous fashion brand, died this week at the age of 60
History: Leroux had a successful career working for Chanel and Fendi before starting his own label in 1985; later, he left his label and worked at Guy Laroche before staring a second line
Flashback: Cindy Crawford models an Hervé Léger gown in 1995
Leroux is most famous for his iconic bandage dresses, which are beloved by the fashion crowd and much of Hollywood.
He invented the tight, figure-hugging silhouette — made up of ‘bandage’ style strips of cloth that wrap around the body — in the ’90s, and it quickly became his signature.
Kim Kardashian, Gisele Bundchen, Miranda Kerr, Beyonce, Rihanna, Sofia Vergara, Taylor Swift, Mariah Carey, Victoria Beckham, and Meghan Fox have all worn his designs.
Long before he found fame, Leroux was born Hervé Léger on May 30, 1957 in Bapaume in northern France. He studied sculpture at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts in Paris before becoming a hairstylist.
Sexy: His bandage dresses are beloved by stars like Gisele Bundchen and are still a red carpet staple
Fave: During the early years of Kim Kardashian’s career, she was seen frequently in bandage dresses by the label
Innovative: He said he got the idea for bandage dresses from bands at a factory that were headed for the garbage
He was never far from fashion, though. He was styling hair for a Chloé fashion show when he decided to segue into designing, first taking up making hats and bags.
He met Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld in 1980, and the elder designer hired him to work at Fendi. He later followed Lagerfeld to Chanel.
Leroux also spent time working for Lanvin Haute Couture and Diane von Furstenberg.
In 1986, he launched his own eponymous label, Hervé Léger, under which he started making his bandage dresses.
‘The story of the dress is a very simple one,’ he said, according to Style.com and The Fashion Spot. ‘Before I started making clothes I was a hairdresser, then a hatmaker. One day in a factory I found some bands that were headed for the garbage. They gave me the idea of taking those bands and putting them next to one another as one does making a hat.’
Popular: The designer is pictured at one of his fashion shows in 1998
Copycats: His bandage dresses (seen in 1997) have become iconic and are widely replicated
Switch: BCBG Max Azria bought his label in and took away naming rights, leading to the new name Hervé Leroux
Leroux continued making his celeb-beloved designs under the name Hervé Léger until 1999, when BCBG Max Azria bought the brand. In 2006, it was renamed Hervé Léger by Max Azria.
Leroux lost the rights to use his name, and changed it with help from Lagerfeld.
‘He told me, “Call yourself Leroux because your hair is red — not as red as it was, because you are older — but anyway it works, and everyone will know who you are,”‘ he said.
He went on to work as creative director of Guy Laroche from 2004 to 2006, and later debuted a new line under the name Leroux.