Ginette Spanier

Ginette Spanier
Born Jenny Yvonne Spanier
(1904-03-07)7 March 1904
Died April 1988 (aged 8384)
London, England
Residence Paris, France
Nationality French
Occupation Director of a fashion-house
Years active 1947-1976
Employer House of Balmain
Spouse(s) Paul-Emile Seidmann

Jenny Yvonne Spanier (19041988), known as Ginette, was director of the House of Balmain, a Paris fashion-house, and was decorated for her wartime work.

Early life

Spanier, who was Jewish, was born in Paris on 7 March 1904 and raised in Hampstead, London, England and attended Frognal School there.[1]

War years

While in Paris as a buyer for Fortnum & Mason, she met Paul-Emile Seidmann, a doctor. In 1939, they married.[1] Shortly afterwards, during World War II, they fled Nazi-occupied Paris by bicycle. She was subsequently awarded the Medal of Freedom for assisting the American Army of Liberation.[1][2] Seidmann was made a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur for his work with concentration camp survivors.[1]

Balmain

Spanier (left) with model Marie Teresa and Pierre Balmain at Balmain's Croissy home

After the war, the couple lived for many years on Paris' Avenue Maurice, and she became directrice (director) at Balmain from 1947 to 1976.[1] The first of her two volumes of autobiography, It isn't All Mink (1959), had a foreword by Noël Coward,[3] the second volume, And Now It's Sables (1970), had one by Maurice Chevalier.

She appeared as a "castaway" on the BBC Radio programme Desert Island Discs on 21 June 1965.[4] She was also the guest on This Is Your Life on 9 February 1972.[5]

Death

She retired, a widow, to London, and died there in April 1988.[1]

Bibliography

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rubinstein, William D.; Jolles, Michael; Rubinstein, Hilary L. (2011-03-15). The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 942. ISBN 9781403939104. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  2. Bradford, Barbara (3 February 1973). "Fashion designer at home in Paris salon to famous". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  3. Spanier, Ginette (1959). It isn't All Mink.
  4. "Desert Island Discs - Castaway : Ginette Spanier". BBC Online. BBC. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
  5. "Ginette Spanier". Retrieved 29 May 2016.

External links

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