The end of an era: Sonia Rykiel French fashion house goes into liquidation

The troubled Sonia Rykiel French fashion house - once a symbol the rebellious spirit of Paris in 1968 - on Thursday went into liquidation.

A Paris court ordered the winding up of the loss-making brand founded by the "Queen of Knits" Rykiel, an icon of 1960s revolt against the fashion establishment.

Despite the boom in luxury French fashion, a buyer could not be found to take on the label since it went into receivership in April.

Several of the brand's 131 workers who were in court for the decision burst into tears when the winding up order was made.

Their lawyer Thomas Hollande confirmed the decision would mean loss of jobs. Sonia Rykiel's four boutiques and six other outlets will close immediately.

The name could yet live on, however, if it is acquired separately.

Rykiel's first boutique opened on the Left Bank of the French capital in May 1968 just as students took to the streets outside demanding an end to the old order.

The designer, who died two years ago from Parkinson's disease aged 86, made her name with the "Poor Boy Sweater", a tight sweater dress made famous by film stars Audrey Hepburn, Brigitte Bardot and Catherine Deneuve.

She is also credited with making wearing black the epitome of Parisian cool. However, she described her preference for the colour was down to practicalities as opposed to making a statement: "I like to dress very simply - perhaps a black crepe jacket and black crepe trousers," she said.

Red-haired Rykiel caught the revolutionary spirt of the time with easy-to-wear clothes that often bore political slogans, and she signed a famous feminist declaration in 1971 that paved the way for the legalisation of abortion in France.

So great was her influence on Paris fashion in the 1970s - period dominated by the friends-turned-bitter-rivals such as the Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent - that she was known as "Coco Rykiel", a nod to the pioneering female designer Coco Chanel.

The designer's touch was also appreciated in the UAE. Yas Mall Fashion Week launched its 2015 edition in a runway showing featuring the Sonia by Sonia Rykiel autumn/winter

But last year her brand, half of whose sales were in France, lost €30 million.

While several investors expressed interest in taking the house on, including the former chief of the Paris brand Balmain, Emmanuel Diemoz, and a Chinese conglomerate, nothing came to fruition.

"It's like she has died a second time," said Agnes Trouble, the veteran French designer and founder of the Agnes b. brand.

"It's the end of an era. Dior and Saint Laurent are all about bling now -- they no longer have the Parisian elegance they used to have.”

In honour of Rykiel's impact, she became the first fashion designer to have a Paris street named after her last year.

Alle Sonia Rykiel is located in in the middle of a grand Left Bank boulevard where the late designer, who died in 2016, did her fruit and vegetable shopping.

The National