Vicky Tiel (aka Vicki Tiel) is an American-born

fashion designer Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...

who established her career in Paris, France. She is a couture designer and also has her own line of clothes on the

Home Shopping Network HSN, an initialism of its former name Home Shopping Network, is an American free-to-air television network owned by the Qurate Retail Group, which also owns catalog company Cornerstone Brands. Based in the Gateway area of St. Petersburg, Flor ...

. She is the author of the book, ''It's All About The Dress: What I Learned in Forty Years About Men, Women, Sex and Fashion'' published in 2011.

Early years

Vicky Kay Tiel was born in

Washington DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

to Ethel Kipnes, a painter from

Hudson, New York Hudson is a city and the county seat of Columbia County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 5,894. Located on the east side of the Hudson River and 120 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, it was named for the rive ...

and David Tiel, a Polish-Russian born architect and builder. She studied fashion design at

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was ...

and later

Parsons School of Design Parsons School of Design, known colloquially as Parsons, is a private art and design college located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhatt ...

in New York City. In 1963 while still in school, Tiel created the one-piece zip-front

jumpsuit A jumpsuit is a one-piece garment with sleeves and legs and typically without integral coverings for feet, hands or head. The original jump suit is the functional one-piece garment used by parachuting, parachuters. The original skydivers' j ...

, later worn by

Ursula Andress Ursula Andress (born 19 March 1936) is a Swiss-German actress, former model and sex symbol who has appeared in American, British and Italian films. Her breakthrough role was as Bond girl Honey Ryder in the first James Bond film, '' Dr. No'' (1962 ...

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

's, ''

What's New Pussycat? ''What's New Pussycat?'' is a 1965 screwball comedy film directed by Clive Donner, written by Woody Allen in his first produced screenplay, and starring Allen in his acting debut, along with Peter Sellers, Peter O'Toole, Romy Schneider, Capuci ...

''. While at Parsons School of Design in 1962, Tiel met Mia Fonssagrives (daughter of Swedish supermodel

Lisa Fonssagrives Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer * Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...

and step-daughter of fashion photographer

Irving Penn Irving Penn (June 16, 1917October 7, 2009) was an American photographer known for his fashion photography, portraits, and still lifes. Penn's career included work at ''Vogue'' magazine, and independent advertising work for clients including Is ...

), and the two quickly became friends and business partners. They moved to

Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1964 and met designer

Louis Féraud Louis Féraud (13 February 1921 – 28 December 1999) was a French fashion designer and artist. In 1950, Louis Féraud created his first "Maison de Couture" in Cannes and by 1955 had established a couture house in Paris on 88, Rue du Faubourg Sa ...

. In Féraud's couture show in July 1964, the Mia-Vicky mini dress was introduced. After seeing the Mia-Vicky minis at the Féraud show, The

International Herald Tribune The ''International Herald Tribune'' (''IHT'') was a daily English-language newspaper published in Paris, France for international English-speaking readers. It had the aim of becoming "the world's first global newspaper" and could fairly be said ...

writer,

Eugenia Sheppard Eugenia Benbow Sheppard (July 24, 1899 – November 11, 1984) was an American fashion writer and newspaper columnist for some 80 newspapers (including the ''Columbus Dispatch'', ''New York Post'', ''The Boston Post'', and most notably, the ''New Y ...

, wrote in headlines in "Anyone in Fashion Over 25 Might as Well Be Dead".

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

magazine wrote a five-page story on the young designers titled, "Two American Girls Show Paris" and they were internationally recognized. In December 1964, Johnny Carson invited Tiel and Fonssagrives in their mini dresses on his "Tonight Show".

Career

Tiel's first film credit as a costume designer was for ''

'', shot in Paris, France. While shooting at the studio, Tiel met her first financial backer,

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...

. In 1968, after four years of dressing Taylor, Tiel and Taylor became partners in the Mia-Vicky couture house. In May 1968, the Mia-Vicky shop opened on 21

Rue Bonaparte Rue Bonaparte is a street in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It spans the Quai Voltaire/Quai Malaquais to the Jardin du Luxembourg, crossing the Place Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the place Saint-Sulpice and has housed many of France's most famou ...

Paris and is still in operation today. As a costume designers, Tiel and Fonssagrives introduced a satin wrap dress in 1967 for the movie ''

Candy Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies (Australian English Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language an ...

'' worn by actress

Ewa Aulin Ewa Birgitta Aulin (born 13 February 1950) is a Swedish former actress who appeared in a number of Italian and some American films in the 1960s and 1970s. She is remembered for playing the title character in the cult film ''Candy'' where she appea ...

. In 1970, after Fonssagrives divorced Féraud and left Paris, Tiel changed her label and their boutique into her own name, Vicky Tiel. In 2012, Vicky Tiel joined HSN TV in St Petersburg, Florida to produce a line of affordable dresses and in 2013 Tiel added sportswear, coats and handbags, all produced from a licensing agreement with G111 Corporation at 512 7th Ave, NY. This is Tiel's first work as a designer for an American company since the late 60s.

Perfumes

Since 1989, Tiel has launched the fragrances "Original", "Sirene", "Venus", "Etheree, "Ulysses", "Couture", "Desiree","Achilles", "Sensual", and "Tickled Pink". "Sirene" and "Ulysses" have sold worldwide since their debut and are currently licensed by 5 Star Fragrance.

Publications

Tiel published a memoir titled ''It's All About the Dress'' in 2011 by

St Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under si ...

, and has appeared at the 2012 LA Times Book Fair. Tiel published a second book, ''The Absolute Woman: It's All About Feminine Power'' in 2018. Tiel is a frequent blogger on

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

and XO JANE.

Personal life

Vicky Tiel was married to make-up artist, Ron Berkeley, from 1971 to 1986. Tiel and Berkeley have two sons, Rex and Richard. In 1996, Tiel married Merchant Marine Officer, Captain Mike Hamilton and resides in Paris, NY, and on a Florida wilderness farm.

Fine art and other works

In 2011, Tiel became a member of National Association of Women's Artists on 80 5th Ave, NYC, where Tiel and her mother, Ethel Kipnes, both show their work in oil paintings and photographs. Tiel is a fashion critic and frequent lecturer at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NY.

Costume Designer, Film Credits

* ''What's New Pussycat'', 1964 * ''The Eye of the Devil'', 1966 * ''The Grand Prix'', 1966 * ''Doctor Faustus'', 1967 * ''Candy'', 1968 * ''The Walking Stick'', 1970 * ''The Only Game in Town'', 1970 * ''Bloomfield'', 1971 * ''Le Mans'', 1971 * ''La Maison Sous Les Arbres'', 1971 * ''Bluebeard'', 1972 Tiel's dresses have appeared on the leading actresses in ''

Saturday Night Fever ''Saturday Night Fever'' is a 1977 American dance drama film directed by John Badham and produced by Robert Stigwood. It stars John Travolta as Tony Manero, a young Italian-American man from the Brooklyn borough of New York. Manero spends his ...

'' 1977, ''Black Rain'' 1989 and

Pretty Woman ''Pretty Woman'' is a 1990 American romantic comedy film directed by Garry Marshall, from a screenplay by J. F. Lawton. The film stars Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, and features Héctor Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy (in his final performance), La ...

1990

References

External links

*
IMDB
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tiel, Vicky American fashion designers American women fashion designers Parsons School of Design alumni Pratt Institute alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People from Chevy Chase, Maryland Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School alumni 21st-century American women