Out of Fashion

A landmark biography of Rudi Gernreich, a revolutionary fashion designer and cofounder of the first gay rights organization in America. Rudi Gernreich was one of the two degrees of separation between Karl Marx and Cher. One of the twentieth century's most famous designers, Rudi's avant-garde looks—like unisex outfits and the topless monokini condemned by the Kremlin and Vatican—defined the sixties. As a designer, he was fearless. But as a man, he had to live more carefully. Out of Fashion is the first biography of this unsung fashion rebel. A refugee from Nazi Vienna, a dancer, and a gay activist, Rudi's work blended artistry with radicalism. He made his name by freeing the female body—attracting clients like Barbra Streisand, Marilyn Monroe, and Donyale Luna, the first Black supermodel, as well as millions of American women. But success meant compromising his ideals and self-expression. This illuminating work brings Rudi and his world to life in vivid detail, laying bare his incomplete movement for liberation and the consumer culture that replaced it.

Ben Miller is a writer and historian living in Berlin. He cohosts the Bad Gays podcast and coauthored Bad Gays: A Homosexual History, which won the Goodreads Choice Award in History and Biography. He is on the board of the Schwules Museum, the world's largest independent queer archive.