NINA RICCI HAUTE COUTURE FALL / WINTER 1991 GREEN SATIN MILITARY JACKET

For three decades, Gerard Pipart was the designer behind Nina Ricci’s bridal couture collections.Best known for his work at Nina Ricci, where he held the position of couture designer for more than 30 years.

Pipart was applauded for his avant-garde designs. In an interview with WWD in 1994, Pipart revealed: "I'm amazed I stayed so long. When I arrived everyone was predicting the death of couture, so I was keen to get in for what were meant to be the final few years. And, despite what people like Pierre Bergé and many others predicted, couture has lasted a lot longer than anyone ever thought."

Didier Grumbach, the president of France's fashion governing body (Fédération Française de la Couture du Prêt-à-Porter des Couturiers and Créateurs de Mode) said of the designer: "He was a central figure at a pivotal moment for fashion. He was considered at the time as one of the most talented designers. He was extremely inventive and creative, and broke with accepted codes of the time." Whether it was Pipart’s ladylike take on puffed sleeves and voluminous skirts that defined the 80s, or his intricate detailing and embellishment that contrasted the 90s obsession with sleekness, Pipart’s dresses always felt suitable for the times, yet in a world all their own.