GETTY IMAGESShe was one of the
original – and most
loved – blonde
bombshells.
Now, a new book
documents the
fashion legacy of
Brigitte Bardot,
in her own words
BRIGITTE
UNSEEN
T
he Brigitte Bardot of our collective
imagination may be a barefoot, kittenish
sexpot with a tousled beehive, a woman
of whom Woody Allen once said,
“I’m firmly convinced nothing more
beautiful exists on earth.” But as far as
the fashion world is concerned, Bardot’s greatest talent
has to be her knack for invention. The French actress
turned animal rights activist championed the off-the-
shoulder neckline that still bears her name. She
rehabilitated gingham, claims she came up with the
headband, definitely created the ballerina flat (or at least
commissioned the first street-worthy version) and may
as well have invented the bikini. Now 82, she has
shunned the public life and rarely grants interviews,
which makes her commentary on her own fashion legacy
in the new book, Brigitte Bardot: My Life In Fashion,
all the more revealing.Portfolio