Olivier Strelli born Nissim Israel is a
Belgian
Belgian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to, Belgium
* Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent
* Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German
*Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...
fashion designer, who put Belgium on the fashion map. His name is now synonymous with a chain of male and female clothing and accessory boutiques in Belgium, Switzerland, France and China. In 2005, Francophone Belgian TV viewers voted Strelli 56th in a list of the 100 greatest Belgians of all time through the show ''
Les plus grands Belges
''Les plus grands Belges'' ( French for "The Greatest Belgians"), is a television show that aired in 2005 on the Belgian French-speaking public channel RTBF. In the program the audience could vote for the greatest Belgian by using the website, se ...
''.
Biography
Strelli was born in 1946 in
Kinshasa,
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964.
Colo ...
the son of
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
and
Greek Jews
The history of the Jews in Greece can be traced back to at least the fourth century BCE. The oldest and the most characteristic Jewish group that has inhabited Greece are the Romaniotes, also known as "Greek Jews." The term "Greek Jew" is pred ...
from the island of
Rhodes
Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...
who had migrated there in the early 20th century. The Congo was at that time
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
's great colonial possession and non-
African communities included
Greeks
The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...
and
Sephardic-
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
who had fled political unrest in the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
. After Congolese Independence, Strelli's family ended up in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
where Olivier had studied textile design in
Tournai. Based in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
from 1974, he created a line of
off-the-peg male fashions and later opened his own boutique. His first full-line collection was shown in the
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
season of 1980. Famous clients since have included the
Rolling Stones,
Brigitte Bardot
Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a former French actress, singer and model. Famous for portraying sexually emancipated characters with hedonistic lifestyles, she was one of the ...
,
Stevie Wonder and several members of the Belgian royal family. The yellow coat worn by
Queen Paola
Paola (born Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabria;AlthougThe Belgian Monarchy websiteattributes the title of "Princess" to Queen Paola prior to marriage, Burke's Peerage 1973, The Descendants of Louis XIII 1999, ''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels'' 200 ...
during the coronation of her husband
King Albert II in 1993 was a Strelli original. He has also designed uniforms for Belgian railway staff and for air hostesses of the now-defunct Belgian national airline
Sabena
The ''Societé anonyme belge d'Exploitation de la Navigation aérienne'' (French; ), better known by the acronym Sabena or SABENA, was the national airline of Belgium from 1923 to 2001, with its base at Brussels National Airport. After its ba ...
.
Sales site offering Strelli-designed Sabena uniforms
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External links
Official website
References
Other notes taken from the biography : ''Olivier Strelli, passion et métissages'', by Élodie de Sélys, published Éditions La Renaissance du Livre, 2006.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strelli, Olivier
1946 births
20th-century Belgian Jews
21st-century Belgian Jews
Belgian Sephardi Jews
Democratic Republic of the Congo emigrants to Belgium
Belgian people of Greek-Jewish descent
Belgian people of Italian-Jewish descent
Democratic Republic of the Congo Jews
Democratic Republic of the Congo people of Greek-Jewish descent
Democratic Republic of the Congo people of Italian descent
Living people
Belgian fashion designers
People from Kinshasa
African Sephardi Jews