Legendary Singer & Style Icon Françoise Hardy Has Passed Away
In memory of the singer, we look back on her incredible influence
French singer and actress Francoise Hardy, wearing a fur coat, smiling, leaning on a wall in Piazza Sant’Ambrogio. Milan, 1969 (Photo by Mondadori via Getty Images)
French singer, actress and fashion icon Françoise Hardy has passed away at the age of 80, according to her son, Thomas Dutronc.
“Maman est partie,” he wrote on Instagram alongside a throwback photo of the two together, which translates to “Mum is gone”.
While no exact cause was cited, Hardy had been battling lymphatic cancer since 2004, undergoing years of treatments before being placed in an induced coma briefly in 2015 after her condition worsened.
Born in Paris in 1944, the multi-hyphenate was signed with Disques Vogue records in her teens and continued to top charts worldwide with hits like ‘Tous les Garçons et les Filles’ and ‘Comment te dire adieu’. Though music was her passion, her sartorial prowess and insouciant ’60s aesthetic have cemented her as a fashion icon, still prolifically referenced to this day.
Embodying that ineffable Parisian chic we’re always talking about, Hardy was among the likes of Jane Birkin and Brigitte Bardot with her effortlessly cool approach to fashion and beauty. Think worn-in denim with heeled boots, mini skirts with ballet flats, undone hair with wispy bangs and an endless array of relaxed button-down shirts. Naturally, she became a muse to designers Yves Saint Laurent and Paco Rabanne and was even photographed by Richard Avedon and William Klein.
In her personal life, her beauty and talent garnered her plenty of attention—including fellow musicians like Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones. Having first met in 1967, she married Jacques Dutronc in 1981, but the two parted ways in 1988 on amicable terms after having a son together. She would later refer to marriage as “an uninteresting formality”, and cared more for her creative endeavours and raising Thomas, whom she is survived by.
To commemorate her remarkable life, we rounded up some of the most iconic looks she blessed us with over the years, particularly during her 60s-70s reign. Scroll on for our favourite Françoise Hardy style moments.
(Original Caption) Popular French singer Francoise Hardy wears a gold, diamond studded mini skirt valued at 10.4 million dollars at the opening of a Diamond Exhibition in Paris, May 15th. The skirts designer Paco Rabanne, and artist Salvador Dali (R) admire the creation. The skirt is made up of gold panels encrusted with carats worth of diamonds and took 2,000 man hours to assemble. It was to be disassembled at the end of the exhibition.March 1963: French singer-songwriter Francoise Hardy, who represented Monaco in the Eurovision song contest. (Photo by Express/Express/Getty Images)1967: French singer Francoise Hardy visiting Carnaby Street in London. (Photo by John Pratt/Keystone Features/Getty Images)LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – JANUARY 01: French singer Francoise Hardy performs on stage at the Talk of the Town in London, England circa 1968. (Photo by David Redfern/Redferns)8th April 1967: Young French singer Francoise Hardy on a modelling assignment while she is between record contracts. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)UNITED KINGDOM – JANUARY 01: Photo of Francoise HARDY; live at the Hippodrome Theatre (Photo by Andrew Maclear/Redferns)Francoise Hardy arrive à l’Olympia pour y voir un spectacle en novembre 1969, Paris, France. (Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)Music from Studio B (Musik aus Studio B), music show, Germany, 1966, guest star: Hardy before the performance in Hamburg. (Photo by Helmut Reiss/United Archives via Getty Images)Françoise Hardy vêtue d’une ‘Côte de maille’ à Londres, Royaume-Uni le 24 avril 1968. (Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)Francoise Hardy en vacances sur la Côte d’Azur le 9 aout 1965, France. (Photo by REPORTERS ASSOCIES/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)Die französische Yeye- und Schlagersängerin, Texterin, Komponistin und Filmschauspielerin Francoise Hardy in einer Hoteltür, Mitte 1960er Jahre. (Photo by Roba Archive/United Archives via Getty Images)Portrait de la chanteuse Françoise Hardy en robe longue dans une salle de château, circa 1970. (Photo by PATRICE PICOT/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)Francoise Hardy. 1966. (Photo by: Marka/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)Francoise Hardy sur la Croisette lors du Festival de Cannes, France, le 15 mai 1963. (Photo by REPORTERS ASSOCIES/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)French singer and songwriter Francoise Hardy, circa 1965. (Photo by Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)Julien Clerc, Francoise Hardy, disque d’or in Lyon, 1974. (Photo by PICOT/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)Francoise Hardy, french singer, filming on Exhibition Road in London, 11th October 1965. (Photo by Doreen Spooner/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)Portrait de Francoise Hardy sur la Croisette en janvier 1974 à Cannes, France. (Photo by Gilbert GIRIBALDI/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)French singer Francoise Hardy performs on the French TV show Palmares de la Chanson. (Photo by THIERRY ORBAN/Sygma via Getty Images)Francoise Hardy, french singer, makes a guest appearance on ITV music show They’ve Sold A Million, an Associated Rediffusion produced TV Show, pictured during filming, in studio, 21st February 1964. The programme first aired on Wednesday 26th February 1964. (Photo by Eric Harlow/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)Francoise Hardy performs on TV show Ready Steady Go, Kingsway Studios, London, February 1964. (Photo by Stanley Bielecki/ASP/Getty Images)Francoise Hardy, french singer, pictured in Platt Fields Park, Fallowfield, Manchester, 13th May 1965. (Photo by Ernest Chapman/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)Jack Brabham, Françoise Hardy, Brabham-Repco BT19, Grand Prix of Italy, Autodromo Nazionale Monza, 04 September 1966. Jack Brabham with french singer and actress Françoise Hardy during the shooting of John Frankenheimer’s film “Grand Prix in Monza, during the 1966 Grand Prix of Italy. (Photo by Bernard Cahier/Getty Images)GENEVE, SUISSE – 18 OCTOBRE: Françoise Hardy posant devant la ‘Gaminerie’, succursale de la boutique de Paris spécialisée dans les mini-jupes, shetlands et tous les articles yé-yé, à Genève, Suisse le 18 octobre 1966. (Photo by Keystone-FranceGamma-Rapho via Getty Images)CANNES, FRANCE – 04 AOUT: Françoise Hardy à la piscine de l’hôtel à Cannes, France le 4 août 1967. (Photo by Keystone-FranceGamma-Rapho via Getty Images)“The Venusian” (Photo by Louis JoyeuxINA via Getty Images)(Photo by REPORTERS ASSOCIESGamma-Rapho via Getty Images)Francoise Hardy on the set of variety shows “”Number one”” dedicated in Michel Berger and France Gall (Photo by Jean Claude Pierdet/INA via Getty Images)Francoise Hardy on the TV studio set on Sunday (Photo by Guy BreematINA via Getty Images)LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – MARCH 23: Hardy in London on March 23, 1963 in Lodon, United kingdom. (Photo by REPORTERS ASSOCIES/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)Francoise Hardy, french singer pictured seated between the feet of a sphinx, on the Thames Embankment, London, 21st June 1970. (Photo by Malcolm McNeill/Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)
