Daniel Hechter

Daniel Hechter (born 30 July 1938) is a French fashion designer, sometimes referred to as the inventor of Pret-a-Porter or ready-to-wear .

Personal life

Hechter was born in Paris, France, in a family who owned a ready-to-wear company. As such, Hechter was brought up in an environment sympathetic to fashion. At the age of four, he was forced to flee from Paris with his mother and did not see his father, a prisoner of war, until he was seven.^[1] He married Marika Hechter; they have a daughter, Hechter then married Jennifer Chambon in 1980. He served in the French Army from 1958–60.

Career

He completed his secondary education and worked as a storekeeper to a fashion house until 1955. By 1956, Louis Féraud and Jacques Esterel were selling Hechter's designs, and he worked for designer Pierre d'Alby from 1958. Hechter founded the Daniel Hechter Company in 1962 with friend Armand Ornstein. His stated goal was to offer wearable yet high-quality, creative fashion for a wide range of consumer groups. Over time he expanded his company, developing it into an international label that encompasses seven different collections. Brigitte Bardot helped bring his designs to a wider audience when she wore one of his outfits in La Parisienne.

He is one of the first designers to produce clothing ranges for skiing and tennis, in 1971.

In 1989, he launched his first line of perfume.

He entered politics and sat on the Marseilles regional council starting in 1992.

In 1997, he retired to Geneva, Switzerland, and he was elected Vice President of the Etoile-Carouge soccer club. His novel Le Boss was published in 2000.

Football

He was a key financial contributor in the early years of the football team Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) ^[2] and was chairman of the management committee from 15 June 1973 to 9 June 1974 and then chairman from 9 June 1974 to 6 January 1978. He left the presidency of the PSG following the scandal of double ticketing the Parc des Princes. Daniel Hechter leaves a mixed memory, mainly because of his obstinacy, even today, in proclaiming himself "founder" of the club. He designed the streetwear for the French soccer team in 1998.

Notes and references

1. ^ Marzel, Shoshanah-Rose (2006). "De quelques Success Stories dans la création vestimentaire parisienne des années 60 [About some Success Stories in the Paris clothing creations during the sixties]" (in French). Archives Juives (Les Belles lettres) 39 (2). ISBN 2251694226. 
2. ^ [1]

External links

• Official Website
• Switzerland website Bio
• Daniel Hechter – designer profile at Fashion Model Directory
• Fashion Encyclopedia Bio

Persondata
Name	Hechter, Daniel
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Date of birth	30 July 1938
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death