Lea Gottlieb

Lea Gottlieb ( English: Lea Gottlieb Lea Gottlieb ; September 17, 1918 - November 17, 2012 ) is the founder of beach fashion. Lea Gottlieb was an Israeli fashion designer and businesswoman. Made a swimsuit, once a purely functional thing, a high fashion item.

Lea Gottlieb
Born	Leah Lenke Roth[1] September 17, 1918 Sajószentpéter, Hungary
Died	November 17, 2012 (aged 94)[1] Tel Aviv, Israel
Nationality	Israeli
Other names	Lady Leah[2]
Occupation(s)	Fashion designer, businesswoman
Known for	Founder and chief designer of Gottex
Spouse	Armin Gottlieb
Children	Judith Gottlieb and Miriam Ruzow

Biography

Lea Lenke Roth (later Gottlieb) was born in Sajószentpéter, Hungary. At the end of World War II, the Gottlieb-Lea family, her husband Armin and their young daughters moved to Israel from Hungary. The decision to immigrate was tough, but the situation in Hungary in the post-war years left little choice for the Lea family. After arriving in Israel, the Leah Gottlieb family settled in a very small house located in the former Arab quarter. Lea and Armin started working right away. Lea continued to sew children's clothes, just as she did in Hungary. While this did not make the Gottlieb family much money, Lea continued to pursue sewing and design. She started to get involved in sewing when she was only six years old. Already in those years, many noted her talent and ability to create an original, unique design. Finally, her natural talent was shaped by the education she received in the specialty - fashion design.

Fashion career

With money borrowed from family and friends, she and her husband opened a similar raincoat factory near Tel Aviv in 1949.

As a result, in 1956 they founded Gottex, a high-fashion beachwear and swimwear company that became a leading exporter, shipping to 80 countries.^[3][4] The company's name is a combination of "Gottlieb" and "textiles".^[5]

References

1. Martin, Douglas (November 19, 2012). "Leah Gottlieb, a Designer of Swimsuits, Dies at 94". The New York Times.
2. Rudolph, Barbara (June 3, 1985). "Israel's Place in the Sun". TIME. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2011.
3. "Tel Aviv Fashion Houses Busy; Beach Design Continued While War Alerts Were On". The Calgary Herald. November 30, 1973. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
4. "'My Homeland: Holocaust Survivors in Israel': new exhibition opens at Yad Vashem". European Jewish Press. April 28, 2008. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
5. Andrea Heiman (April 23, 1993). "Good Gottex! Women Seeking Bold, Slimming Swimwear Make Israeli Company No. 1 in America". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2011.