Guy Laroche (1921 - 1989), French fashion designer and founder of the eponymous fashion house. Son of a cattle farming family in La Rochelle, he started as a hair stylist then worked for 10 years with Jean Desses before opening his Paris salon in the Aveue Franklin Roosevelt in 1957. Known for wearable clothes in bright, acid colours, plunging necklines and for introducing designer separates to the American market.