Vicky Tiel (aka Vicki Tiel) is an American-born

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 ...

who established her career in Paris, France. She is a couture designer and also has her own line of clothes on the

Home Shopping Network HSN, Inc. an initialism of its former name Home Shopping Network, is an American free-to-air television network owned by the QVC Group (formerly Qurate Retail Group), which also owns Catalog merchant, catalog company Cornerstone Brands. It is ...

. She is the author of the book, ''It's All About The Dress: What I Learned in Forty Years About Men, Women, Sex and Fashion'' published in 2011.

Early years

Vicky Kay Tiel was born in

Washington DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

to Ethel Kipnes, a painter from

Hudson, New York Hudson is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in and the county seat of Columbia County, New York, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, it had a population of 5,894. On the east side of the Hudson River, f ...

and David Teitelbaum, a Polish-Russian born architect and builder. She studied fashion design at

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has an additional campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The institute was founded in 18 ...

and later

Parsons School of Design The Parsons School of Design is a private art and design college under The New School located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhattan art ...

in New York City. In 1963 while still in school, Tiel created the one-piece zip-front

jumpsuit A jumpsuit is a one-piece garment with sleeves and legs and typically without integral coverings for feet, hands or head. The original jump suit is the functional one-piece garment used by parachutists. The original skydivers' jumpsuits were ...

, later worn by

Ursula Andress Ursula Andress (born 19 March 1936) is a Swiss actress and former model who has appeared in American, British, and Italian films. Her breakthrough role was as Bond girl Honey Ryder in the first James Bond film, '' Dr. No'' (1962). She later star ...

Woody Allen Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...

's, ''

What's New Pussycat? ''What's New Pussycat?'' is a 1965 screwball comedy film directed by Clive Donner, written by Woody Allen in his first produced screenplay, and starring Allen in his acting debut, along with Peter Sellers, Peter O'Toole, Romy Schneider, Capuc ...

''. While at Parsons School of Design in 1962, Tiel met Mia Fonssagrives (daughter of Swedish supermodel

Lisa Fonssagrives Lisa Fonssagrives (born Lisa Birgitta Bernstone; 17 May 1911 – 4 February 1992) was a Swedish model, dancer, sculptor, and photographer. She is widely credited with having been the first supermodel. Biography Lisa Fonssagrives was born Lisa Bi ...

and step-daughter of fashion photographer

Irving Penn Irving Penn (June 16, 1917October 7, 2009) was an American photographer known for his fashion photography, portraits, and still lifes. Penn's career included work at ''Vogue (magazine), Vogue'' magazine, and independent advertising work for clie ...

), and the two quickly became friends and business partners. They moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1964 and met designer Louis Féraud. In Féraud's couture show in July 1964, the Mia-Vicky mini dress was introduced. After seeing the Mia-Vicky minis at the Féraud show, 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 ...

writer,

Eugenia Sheppard Eugenia Benbow Sheppard (July 24, 1899 – November 11, 1984) was an American fashion writer and newspaper columnist for some 80 newspapers (including the ''Columbus Dispatch'', ''New York Post'', ''The Boston Post'', and most notably, the ''New ...

, wrote in headlines in "Anyone in Fashion Over 25 Might as Well Be Dead".

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

magazine wrote a five-page story on the young designers titled, "Two American Girls Show Paris" and they were internationally recognized. In December 1964, Johnny Carson invited Tiel and Fonssagrives in their mini dresses on his "Tonight Show".

Career

Tiel's first film credit as a costume designer was for ''

'', shot in Paris, France. While shooting at the studio, Tiel met her first financial backer,

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was an English and American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 19 ...

. In 1968, after four years of dressing Taylor, Tiel and Taylor became partners in the Mia-Vicky couture house. In May 1968, the Mia-Vicky shop opened on 21

Rue Bonaparte The Rue Bonaparte () is a street in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It spans the Quai Voltaire/Quai Malaquais to the Jardin du Luxembourg, crossing the Place Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the Place Saint-Sulpice and has housed many of France's mos ...

Paris and is still in operation today. As a costume designers, Tiel and Fonssagrives introduced a satin wrap dress in 1967 for the movie ''

Candy Candy, alternatively called sweets or lollies, is a Confectionery, confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, also called ''sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, including chocolate, chewing gum ...

'' worn by actress

Ewa Aulin Ewa Birgitta Aulin (born 13 February 1950) is a former Swedish actress who appeared in a number of Italian and some American films in the 1960s and 1970s. She is remembered for playing the title character in the cult film ''Candy'' where she appea ...

. In 1970, after Fonssagrives divorced Féraud and left Paris, Tiel changed her label and their boutique into her own name, Vicky Tiel. In 2012, Vicky Tiel joined HSN TV in St Petersburg, Florida to produce a line of affordable dresses and in 2013 Tiel added sportswear, coats and handbags, all produced from a licensing agreement with G111 Corporation at 512 7th Ave, NY. This is Tiel's first work as a designer for an American company since the late 60s.

Perfumes

Since 1989, Tiel has launched the fragrances "Original", "Sirene", "Venus", "Etheree, "Ulysse", "Couture", "Desiree","Achilles", "Sensual", and "Tickled Pink". "Sirene" and "Ulysse" have sold worldwide since their debut and are currently licensed by 5 Star Fragrance.

Publications

Tiel published a memoir titled ''It's All About the Dress'' in 2011 by

St Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan in New York City. It is headquartered in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 ...

, and has appeared at the 2012 LA Times Book Fair. Tiel published a second book, ''The Absolute Woman: It's All About Feminine Power'' in 2018. Tiel is a frequent blogger on

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...

and XO JANE.

Personal life

Vicky Tiel was married to makeup artist, Ron Berkeley, from 1971 to 1986. Tiel and Berkeley have two sons, Rex and Richard. In 1996, Tiel married Merchant Marine Officer, Captain Mike Hamilton and resides in Paris, New York, and on a Florida wilderness farm.

Fine art and other works

In 2011, Tiel became a member of National Association of Women's Artists on 80 5th Ave, NYC, where Tiel and her mother, Ethel Kipnes, both show their work in oil paintings and photographs. Tiel is a fashion critic and frequent lecturer at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NY.

Costume Designer, Film Credits

* ''What's New Pussycat'', 1964 * ''The Eye of the Devil'', 1966 * ''The Grand Prix'', 1966 * ''Doctor Faustus'', 1967 * ''Candy'', 1968 * ''The Walking Stick'', 1970 * ''The Only Game in Town'', 1970 * ''Bloomfield'', 1971 * ''Le Mans'', 1971 * ''La Maison Sous Les Arbres'', 1971 * ''Bluebeard'', 1972 Tiel's dresses have appeared on the leading actresses in ''

Saturday Night Fever ''Saturday Night Fever'' is a 1977 American Dance in film, dance Drama (film and television), drama film directed by John Badham and produced by Robert Stigwood. It stars John Travolta as Tony Manero, a young Italian Americans, Italian-America ...

'' 1977, ''Black Rain'' 1989 and

Pretty Woman ''Pretty Woman'' is a 1990 American romantic comedy film directed by Garry Marshall and written by J. F. Lawton. The film stars Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, and features Héctor Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy (in his final performance), ...

1990

References

External links

*
IMDB
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tiel, Vicky American fashion designers American women fashion designers Parsons School of Design alumni Pratt Institute alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People from Chevy Chase, Maryland Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School alumni 21st-century American women