Lea Gottlieb
Encyclopedia
Lea Gottlieb is an Israeli swimwear fashion designer. She emigrated to Israel from Hungary after World War II, and founded the Gottex
company.
. Gottlieb—who was Jewish—hid from the Nazis in Sajószentpéter and Budapest
, moving from one hiding place to another with her daughters Miriam and Judith. At checkpoints, she hid her head in a bouquet of flowers to avoid being recognized as a Jew. Once, after seeing a Nazi with a pistol, she concealed herself and her children in a pit behind a house.
With money borrowed from family and friends, she and her husband opened a similar raincoat factory near Tel Aviv
in 1949. But for months, they “saw no rain, only sunshine.”
As a result, in 1956 they founded Gottex
, a high-fashion beachwear and swimwear company that became a leading Israeli brand outside of Israel, exporting to 80 countries. The company's name is a combination of "Gottlieb" and "textiles".
Gottlieb, a seamstress, began by selling her wedding ring to raise money to buy fabric. She borrowed a sewing machine, and sewed swimsuits in their small Jaffa
apartment.
She was the company’s chief designer. As the company expanded, Gottlieb created attractive beach outfits for having fun at luxury beaches, by complementing swimsuits with matching tops, pareo
s, caftans, tunic
s, loose pants, small corset
s, and skirts. Her collections often had dramatic and varied patterns that were inspired by and dominated by flowers, which she felt had saved her life during the Nazi occupation. Stitching was known to be meticulous, the prints magnificent and varied.
In 1973, when the Yom Kippur War
broke out, Gottlieb canceled a foreign tour, took over operations at Gottex, and arranged fashion shows for front-line soldiers. By 1984, Gottex had sales of $40 million ($ in current dollar terms), and was the leading exporter of fashion swimwear to the United States, and had two-thirds of the Israeli swimwear market. Among those who wore the company's bathing suits were Diana, Princess of Wales
, Spain's Queen Sofia, Elizabeth Taylor
, Brooke Shields
, and Nancy Kissinger
. The company's 1984 strapless one-piece swimsuit
became the most widely sold style in the world. In 1991, almost half of the company's $60 million business was in the United States.
Lev Leviev
, the owner of the Africa-Israel Group, acquired Gottex in 1997. After about a year heading the design team, Gottlieb left the company. Once her non-compete agreement with Gottex expired, at the age of 85 she founded a new swimwear design company, under her own name.
In 2005, Gottlieb was voted the 167th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet
to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis.
Gottex
Gottex is an Israeli swimwear manufacturer. It is America's top imported swimsuit label.-History:Gottex was founded in 1956 by Lea Gottlieb, a new immigrant from Hungary who adapted her expertise as a raincoat manufacturer to create a pioneering swimsuit company.She sold her wedding ring for...
company.
Early life
Before World War II began, she was planning to study chemistry. During Germany's occupation of Hungary in the mid-1940s, her husband Armin was shipped to a labor campArbeitslager
Arbeitslager is a German language word which means labor camp.The German government under Nazism used forced labor extensively, starting in the 1930s but most especially during World War II....
. Gottlieb—who was Jewish—hid from the Nazis in Sajószentpéter and Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, moving from one hiding place to another with her daughters Miriam and Judith. At checkpoints, she hid her head in a bouquet of flowers to avoid being recognized as a Jew. Once, after seeing a Nazi with a pistol, she concealed herself and her children in a pit behind a house.
Fashion career; Gottex
Gottlieb and her family survived the war, and after the liberation, she and her husband ran a raincoat factory in Czechoslovakia. They emigrated to Haifa, Israel, in 1949. She recalled: "We came with nothing, without money, with nowhere to live. The first two or three years were very, very hard."With money borrowed from family and friends, she and her husband opened a similar raincoat factory near Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
in 1949. But for months, they “saw no rain, only sunshine.”
As a result, in 1956 they founded Gottex
Gottex
Gottex is an Israeli swimwear manufacturer. It is America's top imported swimsuit label.-History:Gottex was founded in 1956 by Lea Gottlieb, a new immigrant from Hungary who adapted her expertise as a raincoat manufacturer to create a pioneering swimsuit company.She sold her wedding ring for...
, a high-fashion beachwear and swimwear company that became a leading Israeli brand outside of Israel, exporting to 80 countries. The company's name is a combination of "Gottlieb" and "textiles".
Gottlieb, a seamstress, began by selling her wedding ring to raise money to buy fabric. She borrowed a sewing machine, and sewed swimsuits in their small Jaffa
Jaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
apartment.
She was the company’s chief designer. As the company expanded, Gottlieb created attractive beach outfits for having fun at luxury beaches, by complementing swimsuits with matching tops, pareo
Pareo
The pāreu or pareo is the Cook Islands and Tahitian word for a wraparound skirt. Originally it was used only to refer to women's skirts, as men wore a loincloth, called a maro. Nowadays the term is applied to any piece of cloth worn wrapped around the body, worn by males or females...
s, caftans, tunic
Tunic
A tunic is any of several types of clothing for the body, of various lengths reaching from the shoulders to somewhere between the hips and the ankles...
s, loose pants, small corset
Corset
A corset is a garment worn to hold and shape the torso into a desired shape for aesthetic or medical purposes...
s, and skirts. Her collections often had dramatic and varied patterns that were inspired by and dominated by flowers, which she felt had saved her life during the Nazi occupation. Stitching was known to be meticulous, the prints magnificent and varied.
In 1973, when the Yom Kippur War
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria...
broke out, Gottlieb canceled a foreign tour, took over operations at Gottex, and arranged fashion shows for front-line soldiers. By 1984, Gottex had sales of $40 million ($ in current dollar terms), and was the leading exporter of fashion swimwear to the United States, and had two-thirds of the Israeli swimwear market. Among those who wore the company's bathing suits were Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
, Spain's Queen Sofia, Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
, Brooke Shields
Brooke Shields
Brooke Christa Shields is an American actress and model. Some of her better-known movies include Pretty Baby and The Blue Lagoon, as well as TV shows such as Suddenly Susan, That '70s Show and Lipstick Jungle....
, and Nancy Kissinger
Nancy Kissinger
Nancy Sharon Maginnes Kissinger is a philanthropist, and the second wife of former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. The couple married on March 31, 1974, in Arlington, VA; a year earlier she had said that speculation that the two would marry was "outrageous."Nancy Kissinger was raised in...
. The company's 1984 strapless one-piece swimsuit
One-piece swimsuit
A one-piece swimsuit is a usually skin-tight one-piece swimsuit worn by women and girls when swimming in the sea or in a swimming pool, or for any activity in the sun, such as sun bathing. The one-piece swimsuit usually covers a female's torso...
became the most widely sold style in the world. In 1991, almost half of the company's $60 million business was in the United States.
Lev Leviev
Lev Leviev
Lev Avnerovich Leviev is a Bukharian-Israeli billionaire businessman, with a net worth of roughly $1.5 billion following the 2008 global financial crisis. Leviev is one of the most prominent Mizrahi Jewish individuals in the world and has been a major philanthropist for Jewish causes in Eastern...
, the owner of the Africa-Israel Group, acquired Gottex in 1997. After about a year heading the design team, Gottlieb left the company. Once her non-compete agreement with Gottex expired, at the age of 85 she founded a new swimwear design company, under her own name.
In 2005, Gottlieb was voted the 167th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet
Ynet
Ynet is the most popular Israeli news and general content website. It is owned by the same conglomerate that operates Yediot Ahronot, the country's secondleading daily newspaper...
to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis.