Henryk Strzelecki (4 October 1925 – 26 December 2012), known as Henri Strzelecki, was a Polish fashion designer living a substantial part of his life in the United Kingdom. Strzelecki and

Angus Lloyd Angus Lloyd was a British businessman and fashion designer. In 1963, Lloyd and his business partner, Henri Strzelecki, founded the Henri Lloyd clothing line in Manchester. Under Lloyd and Strzelecki, the company became known for its pioneering u ...

co-founded the British clothing label,

Henri Lloyd Henri Lloyd is a British clothing brand that specialised in sailing apparel and fashion for men and women. Established in Manchester in 1963, the company had 40 stores spanning the UK, Australia, the Middle East, and Europe. In June 2018, the b ...

, in

Manchester, United Kingdom Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

, in 1963. He was known as Henri or Mr Henri to colleagues and friends.

Early life

Strzelecki was born in

Brodnica Brodnica (german: Strasburg in Westpreußen or Strasburg an der Drewenz) is a town in northern Poland with 28,574 inhabitants . It is the seat of Brodnica County in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. The nearby Brodnica Landscape Park, a pro ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. He fled Poland with the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and enlisted in the Polish 2nd Corps (later part of the

British Eighth Army The Eighth Army was an Allied field army formation of the British Army during the Second World War, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns. Units came from Australia, British India, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Free French Forces ...

) in Italy. Strzelecki fought with the Corps in battles throughout the war, notably participating in the liberation of the city of

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

from the Germans. He was awarded medals from both the British and Polish militaries for his service during the war. Strzelecki decided to remain in the United Kingdom following the war due to the Communist takeover of Poland. He began studying textiles and fibers, which would lead to a career in the clothing industry.

Career

Strzelecki and Lloyd launched Henri-Lloyd Limited, an

amalgamation Amalgamation is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form. Amalgamation, amalgam, and other derivatives may refer to: Mathematics and science * Amalgam (chemistry), the combination of mercury with another metal **Pan am ...

of their two names, in 1963. Their company, which specializes in outdoor gear, golf clothing, yachting and outdoor lifestyle apparel, quickly earned a reputation for introducing new technologies and man-made

textile Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

s and

fiber Fiber or fibre (from la, fibra, links=no) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often incorpora ...

into their clothing. Under Strzelecki and Lloyd, Henri Lloyd became one of the first to utilize

Velcro Velcro, officially known as Velcro IP Holdings LLC and trading as Velcro Companies, is a British privately held company, founded by Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral in the 1950s. It is the original manufacturer of hook-and-loop fast ...

Gore-Tex Gore-Tex is a waterproof, breathable fabric membrane and registered trademark of W. L. Gore & Associates. Invented in 1969, Gore-Tex can repel liquid water while allowing water vapor to pass through and is designed to be a lightweight, waterpr ...

, and

Bri-Nylon Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers composed of polyamides ( repeating units linked by amide links).The polyamides may be aliphatic or semi-aromatic. Nylon is a silk-like thermoplastic, generally made from petro ...

in their apparel. Henri Lloyd clothing became the choice of prominent sailors, Olympians, and explorers, including Sir

Ranulph Fiennes Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 3rd Baronet (born 7 March 1944), commonly known as Sir Ranulph Fiennes () and sometimes as Ran Fiennes, is a British explorer, writer and poet, who holds several endurance records. Fiennes served in the ...

Shirley Robertson Shirley Ann Robertson, OBE DL (born 15 July 1968) is a British sailor and Olympic gold medallist. She made it into the history books by becoming the first British woman to win an Olympic gold medal at consecutive games, Sydney 2 ...

, and Sir

Robin Knox-Johnston Sir William Robert Patrick Knox-Johnston (born 17 March 1939) is a British sailor. In 1969, he became the first person to perform a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation of the globe. Along with Sir Peter Blake, he won the second Jules Ve ...

. Henri Strzelecki died on 26 December 2012, at the age of 87. He was survived by his two sons, Paul and Martin, both of whom are joint chief executives of Henri-Lloyd Limited; and his daughter, Diane. His wife, Sheila, died in 1999.

Awards

Queen Elizabeth II awarded Strzelecki the

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

for his contributions to the clothing industry in 1985. The Henri Lloyd company further received the Queen's Award for Export Achievement in 1986 and 1987. In 1987, Strzelecki was named the Marine Personality of the Year by the Marine Trades Association. The

President of Poland The president of Poland ( pl, Prezydent RP), officially the president of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Prezydent Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), is the head of state of Poland. Their rights and obligations are determined in the Constitution of Pola ...

also awarded him the Gold Cross of Merit in 1990.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strzelecki, Henri 2012 deaths British fashion designers British company founders Members of the Order of the British Empire Polish military personnel of World War II Polish emigrants to the United Kingdom Recipients of the Gold Cross of Merit (Poland) 1925 births

Early life

Career

Awards

See also

References