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Claude Montana obituary

French fashion designer whose shoulder-padded hard tailoring defined the late 1970s and 80s

Fashion traditionally demanded the upper body be vulnerable, exposed at least at the base of the throat to the male gaze – and weathers; Montana carapaced it and transferred to the wearer by zip the power to display only as much flesh as she wanted. He then drifted in Paris, an extra at the Opera and regular attender at Le Sept and even gayer bars, with their culture of pastiche Hollywood glamour, heavy biker leathers and military, cowboy and workwear uniforms. Among the clients who did not feel demeaned over the next seven years, when Montana, with other outsider outrage-purveyors Azzedine Alaïa and Thierry Mugler, dominated Paris and influenced ready-to-wear, were Grace Jones, of course, but also Diana Ross, Cher and Barbra Streisand.

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