Mila Zeiger
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David Erlich (m. 1986–2011)
Mila Zeiger (Emilja Liberman) | |
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| Born | 6 February 1929 |
| Died | 13 September 2016 (aged 87) |
| Occupations | Fashion businesswoman, Socialite |
| Spouse(s) | David Zeiger (m. 1949–1981) David Erlich (m. 1986–2011) |
| Children | Sergio Zeiger, Claudio Zeiger, Eduardo Zeiger e Celia Zeiger |
Mila Zeiger (born Emilja Liberman; 6 February 1929 – 13 September 2016), a businesswoman in fashion, contributed to the introduction of prêt-à-porter in Brazil. In the 1950s, she founded with her husband, David Zeiger, and her parents, David and Rachel Liberman, the women's sportswear company, Pullsport, where she developed collections based on European and North American design trends for three decades beginning in the 1950s.
Mila and David Zeiger were avid socialites in Brazil, having befriended influential figures of politics, high society and the artistic world.
Mila was raised by her grandparents in Ukraine. At the age of almost five, she was reunited with her parents, David and Rachel Liberman, who lived in Paris. Because staying at her parents' was not possible—as the couple lived in a small studio, which during the day worked as a fashion atelier—Mila was sent to a boarding school for children of Russian immigrants, near Fontainebleau.
At the beginning of World War II, the boarding school was closed, and Mila was invited to stay in Biarritz at the home of the aristocratic couple who had previously founded the boarding school. For two years, she attended the local public school. When the Nazi occupation occurred in Paris, Rachel and David Liberman fled with their 11-year-old daughter to Portugal.[1] They remained in Figueira da Foz, a fishing village, for 6 months, at the end of which the family received a visa to immigrate to Brazil.
The Libermans settled in São Paulo where they reopened their atelier with the same Parisian name of Micheline Sport. Later they opened the clothing store Marie Claire,[2] which became a chain. In São Paulo, Mila was initially sent to the Catholic school, Our Lady of Sion, then transferred to the American Graded School where she completed her high school studies.
Career
At the age of 20, Mila married the businessman David Zeiger,[3] owner of Goomtex, a company that manufactured overcoats and raincoats. In the 1960s, Goomtex was integrated with Pullsport.[4]
At the height of its success, Pullsport produced 40,000 pieces per month,[5] and had five hundred employees in the production area, in addition to a large group of contractor seamstresses.[6]
Mila Zeiger produced a fashion directed to the Brazilian taste in choices of texture, colors, details and cut. Under her tutelage, Pullsport mostly used synthetic fibers and fabrics which had the look and feel of luxury materials, but were more affordable to the local consumer.