Lea Gottlieb facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lea Gottlieb
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| Born |
Leah Lenke Roth
September 17, 1918 Sajószentpéter, Hungary
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| Died | November 17, 2012 (aged 94) Tel Aviv, Israel
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| Nationality | Israeli |
| Other names | Lady Leah |
| Occupation | Fashion designer, businesswoman |
| Known for | Founder and chief designer of Gottex |
| Spouse(s) | Armin Gottlieb |
| Children | Judith Gottlieb and Miriam Ruzow |
Lea Gottlieb (born September 17, 1918 – died November 17, 2012) was an Israeli fashion designer. She was also a successful businesswoman. After World War II, she moved to Israel from Hungary. There, she started the famous swimwear company called Gottex.
Contents
Her Early Life and Surviving the War
Lea Lenke Roth was born in Sajószentpéter, Hungary. Before the war, she planned to study chemistry. But then World War II began.
During the mid-1940s, Germany took over Hungary. Lea's husband, Armin, was sent to a labor camp. This was a place where people were forced to work. Lea was Jewish, and Jewish people were in great danger from the Nazis. The Nazis were a political group that caused the war.
Lea hid from the Nazis with her daughters, Miriam and Judith. They moved from one secret place to another in Sajószentpéter and Budapest. At checkpoints, where soldiers checked people, Lea would hide her head in a bunch of flowers. This helped her avoid being recognized as Jewish. Once, she even hid with her children in a pit behind a house to stay safe.
Lea Gottlieb passed away at her home in Tel Aviv, Israel, in 2012. She was 94 years old.
Starting a Fashion Career
After the war, Lea and her family survived. They ran a raincoat factory in Czechoslovakia. In 1949, they moved to Haifa, Israel. Lea remembered that they arrived with nothing. They had no money and no place to live. The first few years were very difficult for them.
Lea and her husband borrowed money from family and friends. In 1949, they opened a raincoat factory near Tel Aviv. But Israel is a sunny country. For months, there was no rain, only sunshine!
So, in 1956, they changed their business. They started Gottex, a company that made high-fashion beachwear and swimwear. Gottex became very successful. It shipped its products to 80 countries around the world. The company's name, Gottex, is a mix of "Gottlieb" (their last name) and "textiles" (the fabrics they used).
Lea Gottlieb was a skilled seamstress. To buy fabric for her first swimsuits, she sold her wedding ring. She borrowed a sewing machine and started making swimsuits in their apartment in Jaffa, a part of Tel Aviv.
Designing for Gottex
Lea was the main designer for Gottex. As the company grew, she created full beach outfits. She made swimsuits with matching tops, pareos (wrap skirts), caftans (loose dresses), and other items. Her designs often featured bold and colorful patterns. She was especially inspired by flowers. She felt that flowers had helped save her life during the Nazi occupation.
In 1973, the Yom Kippur War started in Israel. Lea Gottlieb canceled a trip abroad. She took charge of Gottex and organized fashion shows for soldiers on the front lines.
By 1984, Gottex was very successful. It had sales of $40 million. It was the top exporter of fashion swimwear to the United States. Gottex also held two-thirds of the swimwear market in Israel. Many famous people wore Gottex bathing suits. These included Diana, Princess of Wales, Spain's Queen Sofia, Elizabeth Taylor, Brooke Shields, and Nancy Kissinger. By 1991, almost half of the company's $60 million business was in the United States.
In 1997, a company called Africa-Israel Group bought Gottex. After about a year, Lea Gottlieb left the company. When her agreement not to compete with Gottex ended, she started a new swimwear design company. She was 85 years old at the time. She named the new company after herself.
See also
In Spanish: Leah Gottlieb para niños
