Miniskirts and masculine looks: how Françoise Hardy epitomised French chic – in pictures

Celebrated for her insouciant cool and varied style, the late singer was a muse across decades of fashion. Here are some of her greatest ensembles

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Main image: Francoise Hardy in London in the 1960s. Photograph: Everett/Rex/Shutterstock

  • Françoise Hardy was the face of 1960s French pop, having released her debut single, Tous les garçons et les filles, in 1962 and sung her way to forefront of the yé-yé phenomenon. But her style is every bit as much a part of her legacy. ‘If it weren’t for the way I dress, no one would notice me,’ she told a reporter in 1969, although fans of her music will beg to differ. Here she is on the set of 1966 film Grand Prix
    Francoise Hardy on the set of 1966 film Grand Prix.

  • Over the decades Hardy inspired a host of designers. Avant garde creative Rei Kawakubo even named her brand, Comme des Garçons, after one of the lyrics in Tous les garçons et les filles
    Françoise Hardy wears a dark coat and trousers.

  • No stranger to miniskirts, Hardy was also unafraid to lean into more masculine looks. A muse to Yves Saint Laurent, she was one of the original Le Smoking influencers, championing slick tailoring. She wore her Le Smoking suit on a float to promote her film Grand Prix at the 1966 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade
    Françoise Hardy wearing a suit.

  • Hardy was a style inspiration then as now. As singer-songwriter Carly Simon once recalled: ‘There was a French singer, Françoise Hardy. I used to look at her pictures and try to dress like her.’ It is a sentiment that many will share today, with this exact look – minidress and ballet flats – very much in the ether in 2024
    Françoise Hardy wearing a miniskirt and ballet flats.

  • Mick Jagger described her in an interview as his ideal woman, and Bob Dylan included a beat poem to her on the sleeve of 1964’s Another Side of Bob Dylan: ‘for françoise hardy / at the seine’s edge / a giant shadow / of notre dame / seeks t’ grab my foot / sorbonne students / whirl by on thin bicycles ...’ Here she teams statement sunglasses with a very classic crew-neck black top in Paris, 1968
    Françoise Hardy in statement sunglasses with a classic crew-neck black top.

  • The bakerboy cap and pedal pushers worn by Hardy here, in 1966, are once again at the centre of what is trending on catwalks and magazines, proving the timelessness of her look
    Françoise Hardy on the beach in bakerboy cap and pedal pushers.

  • Paco Rabbane, who brought a space age vision to fashion in the 1960s, dressed Hardy in his outfits, such as this jumpsuit from 1968. His clothes rocketed to popularity after Hardy wore them during performances
    Françoise Hardy in futuristic iridescent Paco Rabanne jumpsuit.

  • Insouciance is a magic ingredient that many of the world’s best-loved style icons seem to have in spades. For all of Hardy’s apparent insecurity, she managed to exude an easy charm via her clothes that has undoubtedly helped her become a go-to on Pinterest moodboards for fans of French-girl style. Here she is in a simple jumper and jeans in 1966
    Françoise Hardy in simple jumper and jeans.

  • The protective higher neckline worn here could be a sartorial nod to her reported shyness when it came to performing. Hardy apparently suffered from stage fright throughout her career
    Françoise Hardy on stage in high-necked dress.

  • Her white suit here, worn to play Sunday Night at the London Palladium in 1967, perhaps again reflects her feeling of there being no place to hide when on stage. ‘If I could sing like Céline Dion, it would have been different,’ she once said
    Françoise Hardy in a white suit on Sunday Night at the London Palladium in 1967

  • In a 2015 interview with Vogue Nicolas Ghesquière, creative director of Louis Vuitton, described Hardy as ‘the very essence of French style’. Encapsulating that approach to fashion Hardy favoured mannish tailoring such as this oversized single-breasted suede coat that she contrasted with more delicate slingbacks
    Françoise Hardy on a Paris street wearing an oversized single breasted suede coat with delicate slingbacks.

  • ‘The tall tall girl with long long hair and mini miniskirt,’ is how the style publication Women’s Wear Daily described Hardy upon meeting her in 1966. Here she is in a miniskirt in London in the 1960s
    Françoise Hardy in a miniskirt London in the mid 1960s

  • ‘I have always believed that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication,’ Hardy once said. Her pared back look here outside a London cafe in 1965 captures her approach with simple kick-flared trousers, a muted printed rollneck and cropped jacket
    Françoise Hardy in kick flared trousers, roll neck and cropped jacket in a London cafe, 1965

  • In 1966 Hardy starred in John Frankenheimer’s Grand Prix. A keen motorcyclist and owner of a Honda CB750 bike (pictured) Hardy was regularly seen whizzing around the streets of Paris in slick double leathers
    Françoise Hardy in leathers sitting on a Honda CB750 motorcycle

  • Rather than ditsy prints Hardy favoured strong block colours. Here she wears an asymmetric printed minidress in 1967
    Françoise Hardy wearing an asymmetric printed minidress

  • Thanks to Beyoncé there’s been a general surge in ‘cowboycore’ with double denim emerging as a key summer trend. Hardy regularly championed the look opting for a slightly oversized denim shirt with matching loosely cut jeans
    Françoise Hardy in double denim

  • Vogue has called her ‘the original French-girl influencer’ and it is easy to see why. At home in Paris in 1973 she embodies the 70s boho vibe in a balloon-sleeved broderie anglaise blouse and knitted waistcoat, which would look current now
    Françoise Hardy wearing a balloon sleeved broderie anglaise blouse and knitted waistcoat

  • The printed co-ords worn here by Jane Birkin and Hardy in 1974 would apparently go on to inspire Gianni Versace and his newspaper print dresses in the 1990s. Birkin, who died last year, is often cited alongside Hardy as having that je ne sais quoi of Gallic style
    Jane Birkin and Francoise Hardy in 1974 in printed co-ords

  • In 1970 Hardy sold her small studio flat on rue du Rocher and purchased a bigger apartment at 10, rue Saint-Louis-en-l’île. Here Hardy wears a glamorous magenta kaftan with sparkling detail
    Françoise Hardy in a magenta kaftan with sparkling detail

  • This picture of Hardy was taken in 1980 but with the classic white shirt, jeans and white trainers, there is nothing that gives away this look as particularly of that era, once again highlighting how classically timeless her look was
    Françoise Hardy in classic white shirt, jeans and white trainers

  • In the 1990s she collaborated on songs with Blur but there is nothing Britpop about her look here in 1992, complete with her trademark eye-skimming bangs and elegance
    Françoise Hardy in the 1990s in elegant black suit

  • Hardy continued to inspire fashion designers right up until the present day. Dealing with death in her final album ‘in a very symbolic and even positive way’, she told the Observer: ‘I can really only sing about that one very special train that will take me out of this world. But, of course, I am also hoping that it will send me to the stars and help me discover the mystery of the cosmos.’ Here she is in Paris in 2004
    Françoise Hardy in Paris in 2004 in a headscarf
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