DIED. Rudi Gernreich, 62, innovative Austrian-born fashion designer whose attempts to free women's clothing from rigid structure and the tyranny of French couture resulted in youthful, boldly colored, free-flowing styles such as tank dresses, miniskirts, the tank-top bathing suit, the see-through blouse and--most controversial--the topless bathing suit; of lung cancer; in Los Angeles. The 1964 strapped, topless suit sold 3,000 copies, outraged the Kremlin and the Vatican and afterward overshadowed the reputation he deserved for more influential work.
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