Died Sonia Rykiel – Kommersant

In Paris “from the effects of Parkinson’s disease” in the 87th year of life died fashion designer Sonia Rykiel. They called her “the queen of knitwear”, but Ms. Rykiel also developed the interior design for the hotel in Paris Crillion and collection for the mail order catalog.

Sonia Rykiel was born in the suburbs of Paris Romanian family-watchmaker and his Russian wife. Her first job was to design mannequins in clothes shop, but then to engage seriously in fashion, its not that inspired. At 24, she married the owner of the boutique, whose name was Sam Rykiel (she took his name, and thus were born the name of the future of the brand). A few years later, while pregnant with her second child, Sonia Rykiel was faced with a problem – none of the stores she could not find enough soft and comfortable sweater. For the case had to take the most: through her husband she found a suitable Italian fabric and started sewing

It went so well that the husband was successfully trade clothing Sonia Rykiel initially under its own brand Laura.. And then it turned out that one of her sweaters sewn chose to shoot on the cover of Elle quite yet when the young singer Francois Hardy. This sweater – fitting in a horizontal white and black, red and pink stripes – caused a sensation, it was called “lame duck sweater», The Poor Boy Sweater. Soon among customers Sonia Rykiel were Brigitte Bardot and Audrey Hepburn, and after a while she got divorced and on the advice of her ex-husband founded the brand in its own name, which already at that time and did not need special advertising.

The style invented by Sonia Rykiel, was very to-face “swing 60 th.” As required while, at the same time he was a little shy, but denoting personal freedom, feminine, but as no one was able to show femininity before. This manner of Sonia Rykiel has maintained throughout his career. In 1968 in the United States it was called the “Queen of Knitwear”, and this title has since found most often next to its name.

Its business is conducted very successfully, without fear this new take on the case. So, for example, in 1972, it has developed a interior design for the hotel in Paris Crillion, and in 1977 became the first major designer, agreed to develop a collection for the mail order catalog.

The 1995 she appointed general and artistic director of Sonia Rykiel home his daughter Natalie. Even then, she began to suffer from Parkinson’s disease, although officially it was announced only seven years later

About the death of Sonia Rykiel told her daughter Nathalie Rykiel, who now heads the brand Sonia Rykiel:. « My mother died yesterday at five in the morning from the effects of Parkinson’s disease. ” Condolences have expressed France’s President Francois Hollande. He named the deceased “fashion pioneer, which gave women the freedom of movements»

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Rita Rusakova