Sir Nicholas Thomas "Miki" Sekers (born Miklós Szekeres, 12 December 1910 – 23 June 1972) was a British-based industrialist who, with his cousin, founded Sekers Fabrics. He was also a patron of the arts.

Early life

He was born Miklós Szekeres on 12 December 1910 in

Sopron Sopron (; , ) is a city in Hungary on the Austrian border, near Lake Neusiedl/Lake Fertő. History Ancient times-13th century In the Iron Age a hilltop settlement with a burial ground existed in the neighbourhood of Sopron-Várhely. When ...

, Hungary. He trained in textile technology in

Krefeld Krefeld ( , ; ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, its c ...

, Germany.

Career

At the invitation of

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

(later Lord Adams) who was charged with overcoming the 50% unemployment from which West Cumberland was suffering at the time, Sekers, who was Jewish, arrived in Britain from Hungary in 1937 with his cousin, Tomi de Gara, to establish West Cumberland Silk Mills at Richmond Hill,

Hensingham Hensingham is a suburb of Whitehaven and former civil parish, now in the parish of Whitehaven, in the Cumberland district, in the ceremonial county of Cumbria, England. The ward population taken at the 2011 census was 4,145. Historically in ...

, West Cumberland, in 1938. During

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 ...

West Cumberland Silk Mills was required to make parachute silk. When supplies of silk ran low, and the new experimental product

nylon Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups. Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...

was introduced as a replacement, Sekers began experimenting with the new synthetic fabric, seeing its potential for

dressmaking A dressmaker, also known as a seamstress, is a person who makes clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Dressmakers were historically known as mantua-makers, and are also known as a modiste or fabrician. Notable dr ...

. An introduction to

Christian Dior Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer and founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Dior, Christian Dior SE. His fashion house is known all around the world, having gained promi ...

led to Sekers producing fabrics for him and many others in the field of Dior's

ready-to-wear Ready-to-wear (RTW)also called ''prêt-à-porter'', or off-the-rack or off-the-peg in casual useis the term for garments sold in finished condition in standardized sizes, as distinct from made-to-measure or bespoke clothing tailored to a partic ...

. In the 1960s, Sekers began to design and produce furnishing fabrics. In 1962 he was awarded the Duke of Edinburgh's Award for Elegant Design (now known as the

Prince Philip Designers Prize The Prince Philip Designers Prize is an annual design recognition given by the Chartered Society of Designers and originally awarded by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (1921–2021). It is the longest running design award in the United Kingdom, ...

Patron of the Arts

He sat on the boards of

Glyndeborne Glyndebourne () is an English country house, the site of an opera house that, since 1934, has been the venue for the annual Glyndebourne Festival Opera. The house, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England, is thought to be about six hundred ...

, the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is a British orchestra based in London. One of five permanent symphony orchestras in London, the LPO was founded by the conductors Thomas Beecham, Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a riv ...

, the

London Mozart Players London Mozart Players (LMP) are a British chamber orchestra founded in 1949. LMP are the longest-established chamber orchestra in the United Kingdom. Since 1989, the orchestra has been Resident Orchestra at Fairfield Halls, Croydon. History Begin ...

and the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

, and was an early supporter of the painter Percy Kelly. He was an early patron of the portrait painter

Judy Cassab Judy Cassab (15 August 19203 November 2015), born Judit Kaszab, was an Australian painter. Early years Judy Cassab was born in Vienna, on 15 August 1920 to Jewish Hungarian parents. She began painting at twelve years old and began studying at ...

and commissioned work by

Oliver Messel Oliver Hilary Sambourne Messel (13 January 1904 – 13 July 1978) was an English artist and one of the foremost stage designers of the 20th century. Early life Messel was born in London, the second son of Lieutenant-Colonel Leonard Messel a ...

Graham Sutherland Graham Vivian Sutherland (24 August 1903 – 17 February 1980) was a prolific English artist. Notable for his paintings of abstract landscapes and for his portraits of public figures, Sutherland also worked in other media, including printmakin ...

, John Piper and Suzanne Balkanyi. Sekers established and endowed a trust to convert a barn at his home at Rosehill,

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. It is a port on the north-west coast, and lies outside the Lake District National parks of England and Wales, National Park. ...

, into the Rosehill Theatre.

Personal life

He was married to Agota Anna Balkanyi. In 2008, an "extremely rare costume by Christian Dior", entitled ''Zemire'', and the centrepiece of the Dior 1954 autumn/winter collection was spotted in a Paris auction. It was discovered to have been commissioned by Agota Sekers. They had three children: Christine, born 1942, who married Jean Baudrand, the son of a textile manufacturer in Lyons; David Sekers born 1943, who married Simone Caplat, daughter of Moran Caplat, the general manager of Glyndebourne; and Alan, born 1947, who worked in film production. He appeared as a castaway on the

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

programme ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight audio recordin ...

'' on 22 April 1968. He was made a

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 ...

(MBE) in the

1955 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1955 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1955 to celebra ...

for services to the fashion industry, and was knighted in the

1965 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1965 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to the '' Lo ...

for services to the arts. Sekers died on 23 June 1972, in Yugoslavia, following a heart attack while on holiday there.

Legacy

His portrait, a 1969 photograph by

Godfrey Argent Bernard Godfrey Argent (6 February 1937 – 1 June 2006) was an English photographer notable for his black and white portraits of royalty, politicians, aristocrats and celebrities. Early life Argent was born in Eastbourne, Sussex, the son of mo ...

is in the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sekers, Nicholas 1910 births Place of birth missing 1972 deaths Place of death missing Hungarian Jews People from Sopron British industrialists British company founders British Jews Members of the Order of the British Empire Hungarian emigrants to the United Kingdom