Ready to think

Paris, 1950s. At just 17 years old, Emmanuelle scoured the phone book and called fashion houses in hopes of landing a modeling job. A young Parisian orphan at a time when fashion was nestled among the elite, she sensed change on the horizon. Soon, the street would take center stage, and fashion would become a space where atypical life paths could be revealed. From a first attempt at the letter B, Emmanuelle Khanh took her first steps into the world of haute couture as a model for Cristobal Balenciaga. A famous Spanish couturier who sought to create an architectural silhouette at all costs, this one-year experience would be the first schooling for the future designer, who would later hold the same position at Givenchy, this time for three years. But, by dint of being the model of the great masters of couture, the one who would be nicknamed "the Amazon of ready-to-wear" by the sculptor Jacques Delahaye developed the desire to create for herself and other women. In her own way, Emmanuelle Khanh intends to let them express themselves through their finery. She will also say that she does not know how to draw but that she knows how to make herself heard (and understood) through drawing. A feminist desire ahead of its time that she will outline through accessible fashion, inspired by the daily lives of the majority of women.

Supported by her husband, designer Quasar Khanh, with whom she formed a notorious artistic couple, Emmanuelle launched into clothing design in 1962, working for Dorothée Bis, Cacharel, Max Mara, and Missoni. In 1965, she presented a sportswear collection at the Palais des Glaces, for which models paraded on ice skates. This off-site show, praised by the press, including the essential Women's Wear Daily (WWD), inspired the entire industry to break free from traditional presentations within couture ateliers and established Emmanuelle Khanh as the leader of the ready-to-wear revolution. Her shows were such an event that even the burgeoning Grace Jones walked Khanh's catwalk, as she gradually transformed every venue in the City of Lights into fertile fashion territory.

From 1969, when her eponymous brand was officially launched, the designer became known to the general public thanks to trompe l'oeil embroidery and knitwear pieces, which had previously been undervalued and were suddenly coveted. By collaborating with numerous manufacturers, she developed a number of innovative design techniques that would mark the end of the reign of haute couture and the entry into the era of designer clothing for all. Through the invention of textile diversions, Khanh became a major figure in the young and dynamic ready-to-wear sector. Hélène Gordon-Lazareff, director and founder of ELLE magazine, would never cease to repeat that, thanks to Emmanuelle Khanh, "women dress women."

It is rare for a woman of the 60s to dare to undertake in the manner of the designer who, with each season, develops her wardrobe to better spread her vision as when she affirms: "long collars in 1962, that was me." Also, she disputes the title of stylist in favor of that of "fashion designer" and will be followed in this appellation by the famous Londoner Mary Quant and then by all the designers of her generation. For Khanh, a stylist composes a look and "searches for accessories" while she prefers to concentrate on the design of clothes.

Change your perspective

And yet, it was an accessory, glasses with thick colored frames, that would make her enter our collective memory. This optical outgrowth, which she hated to the point of letting her myopia take control of her social life—failing to recognize a friend while greeting strangers—would ultimately be her most radiant signature until our time. She seized these unsightly, but clearly indispensable, glasses to create "star looks." With the collaboration of industrialist-artisan Henri Guillet, Emmanuelle Khanh launched, in 1971, glasses that would change society's view of this previously stigmatized and now essential accessory. A new point of view that Khanh embodies better than anyone, constantly sporting this new fetish. She then went from the status of designer to that of ambassador for her own brand, before David Bowie and Miles Davis appropriated the object in turn. Thanks to her, glasses became a fashion statement ahead of their time, symbolizing a taste for design, intellectual work, and avant-gardism. In short, this subversive creation brought together everything that made up the designer's lifestyle. Because, in her house in Garches, built by the brothers Auguste and Gustave Perret, a considerable part of the creative ferment that characterized the spirit of the times played out.

Welcoming the era

Known for hosting Parisian café society receptions every Sunday, the house boasted a psychedelic ambiance beloved of the era and embodied by decorators like Verner Panton. At the Khanhs' home, a melting pot of personalities, including architect Andrée Putman and industrialist Didier Grumbach, strolled amidst Hiquily's sculptures and furniture designed by Quasar himself. The world of design owed much to this genius engineer, whom Philippe Starck considered his only master. While modeling for his wife and inventing a bamboo bicycle, he created his famous velvet cube before developing a complete line of inflatable PVC structures, exhibited at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in 1969. This furniture collection, called "Aerospace," established the Vietnamese designer as a visionary, among the founders of contemporary design. Convinced that "looking rich is obsolete," Quasar put his talent to work to beautify everyday life, like his wife Emmanuelle, who created clothes for everyday life. Together, they created a collection for Missoni in 1966. Since their marriage in 1957, the Khanhs have formed an inseparable duo. Emmanuelle opened the doors of Parisian fashion to him, and Quasar encouraged him to reinvent himself. However, in the press, which adored this couple adept at staging, he enjoyed maintaining the collaborative mystery by claiming that they simply exchanged advice. But for Quasar, as for Emmanuelle, personal and professional lives formed an artistic blur. A creative engine that is at the foundation of their relationship. The success of Emmanuelle Khanh glasses, a true metaphor for her ability to observe the world differently, is still tangible proof of this. By 1989, more than two million pairs of glasses with the initials "EK" branded on the temples were circulating worldwide. During that decade, one hundred and thirty thousand pairs were sold each year, including a considerable number in the United States, which had become passionate about this style element handcrafted in French workshops. It was in this same country that the Emmanuelle Khanh brand would experience an unprecedented and less gendered cultural boost, even bringing together the Parisian designer and Divine, the drag queen pioneer.

By dedicating her life to the beautification of the body, Emmanuelle Khanh offered an ideal yet realistic vision of contemporary design. A clever blend that has been continually sought after ever since, and which happens to be at its core the most visionary aspect of fashion.