Background
Mr. Leroux was born as Hervé Léger on 30 May 1957 in the small historical town of Bapaume in northern France and died on 6 October 2017. He had three siblings.
Young Herve Leger.
Designer Herve Leger (R) and model backstage at the Herve Leger by Max Azria Spring 2012 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at The Theater at Lincoln Center on September 13, 2011 in New York City.
Max Azria and Sakina Jaffrey pose backstage at the Herve Leger By Max Azria fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Spring 2014 at The Theatre at Lincoln Center on September 7, 2013 in New York City.
Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015.
Hervé Léger walking down the catwalk with his models after showing his autumn-winter 1999-2000 ready-to-wear collection.
Hervé L. Leroux with models.
Hervé L. Leroux, October 18, 1996.
Designer Hervé L. Leroux walks the runway at Herve Leger during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2014 at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on February 8, 2014 in New York City.
Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts.
Mr. Leroux was born as Hervé Léger on 30 May 1957 in the small historical town of Bapaume in northern France and died on 6 October 2017. He had three siblings.
At school Hervé L. Leroux excelled in art, leaving his hometown at age 18 to go to study sculpture in Paris at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts.
At 20, Mr. 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. From there, beginning in 1978, 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, Mr. Leroux met Karl Lagerfeld and, three days later, was hired to work as his assistant, initially at Fendi in Rome for two years, and then at Chanel, in Paris, where he was senior assistant designer for their first two ready-to-wear collections.
Hervé L. Leroux opened his first boutique on rue du Pélican in 1984. The boutique - launched under his new name of Hervé Léger, as advised by Lagerfeld himself - specialised in hand-painted dresses and hats, and became one of Paris’ chic shopping destinations.
In 1985, Mr. Leroux launched his own brand, but continued to freelance for other designers on the side, including the house of Lanvin, Daniel Swarovski and Charles Jourdan. The real breakthrough came with his first show in 1991, when he presented 54 outfits in front of a small crowd in Paris. The moulded style of his dresses, and their body-conscious silhouette, caught the eye of the press. In 1995 Hervé L. Leroux designed stage costumes for Zizi Jeanmaire for her show with the Ballet de Marseille, directed by Roland Petit, in Marseille, Paris and Toulon, and also for the ballet "Camera Obscura" directed by Roland Petit at the Opéra de Paris. In 1997 he created costumes for the ballet "Le Lac des Cygnes" (Swan Lake) directed by Roland Petit in Marseille.
Hervé Léger was acquired in 1998 by the Los Angeles-based group BCBG Max Azria and Mr. Leroux parted ways shortly after, losing the commercial use of his name in April 1999. Undefeated and with the support of his loyal clients, he continued to design custom orders, evening gowns and swimwear under the name Hervé L. Leroux from his new boutique on 32 rue Jacob, Paris.
In 2013, after a 12 year hiatus from the catwalk, he was invited by the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode to show as a guest during the Couture schedule in Paris.