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Though it seemed like a romance made in heaven, Gernreich was never enamored of the Summer of Love and became increasingly dismayed by the retro escapism creeping onto the runways. "The fashion impact of Bonnie and Clyde is just plain sick," he said of the style-conscious 1967 movie. "History must be used, not just restored." The next year, he withdrew from public view and traveled the world instead of producing collections. He returned to his West Hollywood studio still steamed at the rag trade. 

His 1971 comeback collection, presented while anti-war sentiment still ran high, included models in military attire wearing dog tags and carrying guns. "Women are on the warpath; they're tired of being sex symbols," he said at the time. But it seems more like Gernreich was the one on the offensive. He mocked Halston's sweater sets with a fake cardigan sewn right into a shirt. Though Gernreich's trademark design motifs were being recycled by other designers, they did not bear the philosophy that went into his original creations. "The circus-y look of today's fashion signals that we are not facing up to the problems of contemporary life," he said.

Gernreich again looked to the future, and proclaimed, "Tomorrow's woman will divest herself of jewelry and cosmetics and dress exactly like tomorrow's man." He wasn't too far off, but his presentation of this idea in 1974 was so ludicrously extreme that the fashion press shrugged (it was a completely hairless man and woman modeling nude as well as in matching bikinis, miniskirts, caftans and knit jumpsuits). 

Yet, in 1975, Gernreich turned around and designed a stunning collection of nylon jersey tube dresses fastened by sculptural jewelry (a Tom Ford collection for Gucci in the '90s was most likely inspired by this). He branched out into fragrance, furniture design, quilts, rugs and kitchen accessories. Though he grabbed fewer headlines than in the past, Gernreich continued to design and maintain his relationship with Moffitt right up until his death in 1985. To this day, Moffitt, who lives in LA, talks of reviving his line without changing a stitch. She dismisses most designers today as dressmakers, and believes that Gernreich's genius will again come to the fore. "Fashion creates problems," she says, channeling her late mentor. "Design solves them."

"Rudi Gernreich: Fashion Will Go Out of Fashion," runs September 14 through November 11, Insitute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 215-898-5000.