Sonia Rykiel

Sonia Flis was born to Jewish parents in Neuilly-sur-Seine on 25 May 1930. Her mother was from Poland, and her father was a watchmaker from Romania. She was the eldest of five sisters. In 1948, at the age of 17, she was employed to dress the window displays in a Parisian textile store, the Grande Maison de Blanc.

In 1953, Sonia married Sam Rykiel, owner of Laura, a boutique selling elegant clothing. The couple had two children, Nathalie and Jean-Philippe Rykiel. They divorced in 1968.

Rykiel often wore her clothes from her own label and stuck to wearing dark green, brown, navy, and black garments. Of her style, Rykiel said, "I hate wasting time getting dressed. I like to put something on and just think: 'Yes. That's it.' When I'm tired I like to dress very simply – perhaps a black crêpe jacket and black crêpe trousers." Rykiel was also known for her distinctive hairstyle – red hair cut into a bob with a heavy fringe.

In 2009, Rykiel signed a petition in support of film director Roman Polanski, calling for his release after Polanski was arrested in Switzerland in relation to his 1977 charge for drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl.