Hervé L Leroux (; 30 May 1957 – 6 October 2017) was a French fashion designer and founder of the Hervé Leger fashion house.

Biography

Hervé Leroux was born as Hervé Leger on 30 May 1957 in the small historical town of

Bapaume Bapaume (original Dutch name Batpalmen) is a Communes of France, commune in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region of northern France. Geography Bapaume is a farming and light indus ...

in northern France and died on 6 October 2017. One of three children, he excelled in art in school, leaving his hometown at age 18 to go study sculpture in Paris at the

Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts The (), formally the (), is a French ''grande école'' whose primary mission is to provide high-level fine arts education and training. The art school, which is part of the Paris Sciences et Lettres University, is located on two sites: Saint-G ...

. Leroux died on 6 October 2017, aged 60.

Early career

Two years later Leroux turned his attention to the world of hairdressing, becoming a qualified hairstylist working for Jean-Marc Maniatis. His first show was doing hair backstage at

Chloé Chloé () is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1952 by Gaby Aghion. In 1953, Aghion joined forces with Jacques Lenoir, formally managing the business side of the brand, allowing Aghion to purely pursue the creative growth of Chloé. It ...

. From there, beginning in 1978, a he began making hats and bags. After creating some hats for a Tan Giudicelli show, he was invited to work on a handful of dresses, an initial taste of dressmaking that led Giudicelli to suggest he drop hairstyling and turn his energies to clothes. In 1980, he met

Karl Lagerfeld Karl Otto Lagerfeld also called Kaiser Karl (; 10 September 1933 – 19 February 2019) was a German fashion designer, photographer, and creative director. Lagerfeld began his career in fashion in the 1950s, working for several top fashion hous ...

and, three days later, was hired to work as his assistant, initially at

Fendi Fendi Srl () is an Culture of Italy, Italian luxury goods, luxury fashion house producing fur, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, fragrances, eyewear, timepieces and accessories. Founded in Rome in 1925 by fashion designers Edoardo Fendi and ...

in Rome for two years, and then at

Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. It is privately owned by French brothers, Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, through the holding company Chanel Limited, established in 2018 and headquarte ...

, in Paris, where he was senior assistant designer for their first two ready-to-wear collections. After Chanel, he went out on his own in 1985, setting up a small studio and store on Rue du Pélican near the

Palais-Royal The Palais-Royal () is a former French royal palace located on Rue Saint-Honoré in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. The screened entrance court faces the Place du Palais-Royal, opposite the Louvre Palace, Louvre. Originally called the Palais-Ca ...

in central Paris, making dresses and hats. He also began a series of consultancies, working as a freelance haute couture designer at Lanvin under the direction of Maryll Lanvin, at

Diane Von Furstenberg Diane may refer to: People *Diane (given name) Film * ''Diane'' (1929 film), a German silent film * ''Diane'' (1956 film), a historical drama film starring Lana Turner * ''Diane'' (2017 film), a mystery film directed by Michael Mongillo * ''D ...

, designing accessories at newly launched

Daniel Swarovski Daniel Swarovski (24 October 1862 – 23 January 1956) was a Bohemian-born Austrian businessman, glazier, and jeweler. He was a founder of the Swarovski crystal dynasty. Early life Swarovski was born in Georgenthal, Bohemia, Austrian Empire ( ...

and shoes at Charles Jourdan. He founded his own label ''

Hervé Léger Hervé Léger () is a French fashion house that was founded by the designer Hervé Peugnet, who was also known as Hervé L. Leroux. As of 2023, the creative director is American designer Michelle Ochs. History Hervé Léger was founded in 19 ...

'' in 1985, creating the bandage dresses that the label would be known for in 1990. Writing in 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 published under the name ''International Herald Tribune'' starting in 1967, but its ...

, fashion critic

Suzy Menkes Suzy Peta Menkes (born 24 December 1943) is a British journalist and fashion critic. Formerly the fashion editor for the International Herald Tribune, Menkes also served as editor, Vogue International, for 25 international editions of '' Vogue ...

described one of these early collections as "a recipe for the Nineties". Leroux "molded his fabric to the female form, rather than draping and cutting it." Though various designers have staked a claim as to who did the bandage dresses first, and Leroux often pointed out that in the modern era the late American couturier Charles James set the standard, he also took a far longer view of any attribution, telling style.com, "Bands belong to history. They come from

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (; The name Cleopatra is pronounced , or sometimes in both British and American English, see and respectively. Her name was pronounced in the Greek dialect of Egypt (see Koine Greek phonology). She was ...

, Queen of the Egyptians." In the late 1990s, he lost control of his company Hervé Léger and the commercial use of the name in 1999.

Becoming Hervé L. Leroux

Leroux (the name change was suggested by

– "He told me, 'Call yourself Leroux because your hair is red – not as red as it was, because you are older – but anyway it works, and everyone will know who you are.'") founded his own independently-financed couture house, Hervé L. Leroux, delivering his first dresses for spring 2000. The design studio and store were, and still are, located at 32 rue Jacob in the heart of Paris' Left Bank, in the former boutique and store of the late famed antique dealer and decorator

Madeleine Castaing Madeleine Castaing (, Magistry; 1894–1992) was a French antiques dealer and interior designer of international renown. She was the friend and the sponsor of many artists, including Soutine, who made her portrait in 1928. Original, even whimsi ...

, a location and enterprise he dubbed "the smallest couture shop in the world." There Leroux developed a new concept of made-to-measure jersey dresses created by hand.

Style

As creative director of Paris-based house

Guy Laroche Guy Laroche () (16 July 1921 – 17 February 1989) was a French fashion designer and founder of the eponymous company. Biography Laroche was born in La Rochelle to a Tunisian Jewish family, and began his career in millinery. From 1949, L ...

from 2004 to 2006, he dressed

Hilary Swank Hilary Ann Swank (born July 30, 1974) is an American actress and film producer. She first became known in 1992 for her role on the television series '' Camp Wilder'' and made her film debut with a minor role in ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (19 ...

for her 2005 Oscar appearance in a backless midnight-blue jersey dress. In 2007, the firm branched into ready-to-wear. In November 2012, Leroux teamed with the NYC based, boutique fragrance brand Joya to create a candleFiorella Valdesol

'The bandage dress, in candle form', ''style.com'', 29 November 2012 which comes in a matte black glass container cut on a slant to mimic a bias drape.

Theater work

*1995 - Designed stage costumes for

Zizi Jeanmaire Renée Marcelle "Zizi" Jeanmaire (29 April 1924 – 17 July 2020) was a French ballet dancer, actress and singer. She became famous in the 1950s after playing the title role in the ballet ''Carmen'', produced in London in 1949, and went on to a ...

for her show with the Ballet de Marseille, directed by

Roland Petit Roland Petit (13 January 192410 July 2011) was a French ballet company director, choreographer and dancer. He trained at the Paris Opera Ballet school, and became well known for his creative ballets. Life and work The son of shoe designer Ro ...

, in Marseille, Paris and Toulon. *1995 - Costumes for the ballet "Camera Obscura" directed by Roland Petit at the Opéra de Paris. *1997 - Costumes for the ballet "Le Lac des Cygnes" (Swan Lake) directed by Roland Petit in Marseille.

References

External links

*http://www.hervelleroux.com/http://www.roland-petit.fr/index.php?p=home-zj&gc=zj *http://www.modeaparis.com/http://www.joyastudio.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Leroux, Herve L 1957 births 2017 deaths French fashion designers People from Pas-de-Calais