BIOGRAPHY

Ilse Weiszfeld was born in Vienna, Austria, on 16 October 1904. She was the daughter of a liquor vendor who ran a stand at a carriage stop in Schönbrunn, and of a dairy seller at the Naschmarkt. She grew up on Märzstraße and, in 1928, married Fritz Weiszfeld, an amateur soccer player, in a Jewish temple. Her family, with a long lineage of gravestone carvers and rabbis, took religious tradition seriously. In contrast, Fritz’s family—originally from Hungary—paid little attention to religious customs.

By the time Ilse married, she had already passed her French and English exams. However, her original dream of becoming a language teacher had long since been dashed. In the poverty-stricken Vienna of the interwar years, she managed to scrape by working as a secretary. Fortunately, Fritz secured her a position at his parents’ business on Rennweg.

Four years after marrying Ilse, her husband ventured to Paris. In a small Parisian room, the couple laid the foundation for what would become a successful business. He purchased a roll of fabric and cut it to size, while Ilse sewed. They had brought with them a unique embroidery technique for underwear and nightgowns, previously unknown in Paris. Her husband offered their products to major department stores like Galeries Lafayette and Printemps—both were enthusiastic. As soon as he delivered the first shipments, he rushed out to buy more fabric. A thriving business was born.

When German troops invaded France in 1940, the family fled to the so-called Free Zone—an area that remained unoccupied until 1942 and was governed solely by the French collaborationist regime. It was not until 1945, after the war had ended, that the family returned to Paris. They were forced to take legal action to reclaim their apartment, which had been looted during their absence. Ilse and her husband also resumed operations at their lingerie workshop, Le Fleuron. A few years later, however, the workshop would be replaced by a nightclub.

She gave birth to her first child, Monique, in 1936, and ten years later, in 1946, welcomed her second child, a son named Alain, in Paris.

Ilse Weiszfeld passed away in Paris, on 22 April 2017, at the age of 112 years, 188 days.

RECOGNITION

Weiszfeld’s age was validated by the ESO on 27 January 2020.

ATTRIBUTION

* “Ilse, doyenne de Paris, souffle ses 113 bougies ce vendredi” – Le Parisien, 20 October 2016

* “Die älteste Pariserin ist eine Wienerin” – kurier.at, 30 October 2016

GALLERY