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Famed French Fashion Designer Dies at 86

Sonia Rykiel.

Famed French fashion designer Sonia Rykiel has died at the age of 86, of complications from Parkinson’s disease. Rykiel’s death was announced by the Élysée Palace and by her daughter, Nathalie, who is reported to work as an artistic director for her family’s fashion house. Rykiel was often compared to Coco Chanel for her free-spirited approach to fashion concepts. She designed fashionable and flattering knitwear, including skirts and sweaters that hugged women’s figures. Two French presidents gifted Rykiel the Legion of Honor, France’s highest award. “My color is black,” she once said. “And black, if it’s worn right, is a scandal.”