Henryk Strzelecki (4 October 1925 – 26 December 2012), known as Henri Strzelecki, was a Polish

fashion designer Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applied arts, applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction, and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by diverse cultures and different trends and has va ...

living a substantial part of his life in the United Kingdom. Strzelecki and Angus Lloyd co-founded the British clothing label,

Henri Lloyd Henri Lloyd is a British clothing brand that specialised in sailing apparel and fashion for men and women. Established in Manchester, England, Manchester in 1963, the company had 40 stores spanning the UK, Australia, the Middle East, and Europe ...

, in

Manchester, United Kingdom Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, in 1963. He was known as Henri or Mr Henri to colleagues and friends.

Early life

Strzelecki was born in

Brodnica Brodnica () is a town in northern Poland with 28,574 inhabitants . It is the seat of Brodnica County in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. The nearby Brodnica Landscape Park, a protected area, gets its name from Brodnica. History The first r ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. He fled Poland with the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and enlisted in the Polish 2nd Corps (later part of the

British Eighth Army The Eighth Army was a field army of the British Army during the Second World War. It was formed as the Western Army on 10 September 1941, in Egypt, before being renamed the Army of the Nile and then the Eighth Army on 26 September. It was cr ...

) in Italy. Strzelecki fought with the Corps in battles throughout the war, notably participating in the liberation of the city of

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

from the Germans. He was awarded medals from both the British and Polish militaries for his service during the war. Strzelecki decided to remain in the United Kingdom following the war due to the Communist takeover of Poland. He began studying textiles and fibers, which would lead to a career in the clothing industry.

Career

Strzelecki and Lloyd launched Henri-Lloyd Limited, an

amalgamation Amalgamation is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form. Amalgamation, amalgam, and other derivatives may refer to: Mathematics and science * Amalgam (chemistry), the combination of mercury with another metal **Pan ama ...

of their two names, in 1963. Their company, which specializes in outdoor gear, golf clothing, yachting and outdoor lifestyle apparel, quickly earned a reputation for introducing new technologies and man-made

textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

s and

fiber Fiber (spelled fibre in British English; from ) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often inco ...

into their clothing. Under Strzelecki and Lloyd, Henri Lloyd became one of the first to utilize

Velcro Velcro IP Holdings LLC, trading as Velcro Companies and commonly referred to as Velcro (pronounced ), is a British privately held company, founded by Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral in the 1950s. It is the original manufacturer of ho ...

Gore-Tex Gore-Tex is W. L. Gore & Associates's trade name for waterproof, breathable fabric membrane. It was invented in 1969. Gore-Tex blocks liquid water while allowing water vapor to pass through and is designed to be a lightweight, waterproof fabri ...

, and Bri-Nylon in their apparel. Henri Lloyd clothing became the choice of prominent sailors, Olympians, and explorers, including Sir

Ranulph Fiennes Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 3rd Baronet (born 7 March 1944), commonly known as Sir Ranulph Fiennes () and sometimes as Ran Fiennes, is a British explorer, writer and poet, who holds several endurance records. Fiennes served in the ...

Shirley Robertson Shirley Ann Robertson, OBE DL (born 15 July 1968) is a British sailor and Olympic gold medallist. She is the first British woman to win Olympic gold medals at consecutive Olympic Games, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004. Early life Robertson ...

, and Sir

Robin Knox-Johnston Sir William Robert Patrick Knox-Johnston CBE RD* (born 17 March 1939) is a British sailor. In 1969, he became the first person to perform a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation of the globe. Along with Sir Peter Blake, he won in 1994 the s ...

. Henri Strzelecki died on 26 December 2012, at the age of 87. He was survived by his two sons, Paul and Martin, both of whom are joint chief executives of Henri-Lloyd Limited; and his daughter, Diane. His wife, Sheila, died in 1999.

Awards

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

awarded Strzelecki the

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

for his contributions to the clothing industry in 1985. The Henri Lloyd company further received the Queen's Award for Export Achievement in 1986 and 1987. In 1987, Strzelecki was named the Marine Personality of the Year by the Marine Trades Association. The

President of Poland The president of Poland ( ), officially the president of the Republic of Poland (), is the head of state of Poland. His or her prerogatives and duties are determined in the Constitution of Poland. The president jointly exercises the executive ...

also awarded him the Gold Cross of Merit in 1990.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strzelecki, Henri 2012 deaths British fashion designers British company founders Members of the Order of the British Empire Polish military personnel of World War II Polish emigrants to the United Kingdom Recipients of the Gold Cross of Merit (Poland) 1925 births

Early life

Career

Awards

See also

References