Eliane Heilbronn, mother of the secretive owners of the luxury group Chanel, has died, aged 99, the company said on Monday, November 25. "Chanel is deeply saddened to confirm the death of Madame Eliane Heilbronn," the group said in a statement, adding that a private funeral would be organized. Its owners, Alain Wertheimer and his brother Gérard, are the grandsons of the label's co-founder, Pierre Wertheimer.
In 1947, Eliane Fisher married Jacques Wertheimer, the only son of Pierre Wertheimer, who owned Parfums Chanel, and, later, the Chanel fashion house, together with his brother Paul. They had two sons, Alain in 1948 and Gerard in 1951, before divorcing in 1952.
Eliane later married Didier Heilbronn, with whom she had a son, Charles Gregoire.
In her 30s, Eliane Wertheimer studied law at New York University, and graduated in 1958. In 1978, she co-founded Salans Hertzfeld Heilbronn, which became Chanel's private law firm. She drafted Karl Lagerfeld's contract when he was hired as Chanel's creative director, in 1982.
Four years earlier, Jacques Wertheimer had handed over the management of Chanel to his son Alain, aged 25.
"Since then, not a dispute, not a project, not an acquisition of a stake has taken place without Eliane Heilbronn's approval," Yann Kerlau said in his book Les Dynasties du Luxe ("The Dynasties of Luxury"). "Her sons Alain and Gerard, as well as the son from her second marriage, Charles Gregoire, owe her everything."
Eliane Heilbronn's death comes at a time when Chanel has yet to name a successor to Virginie Viard, who stepped down last June as artistic director of fashion and haute couture.
In May, privately-held Chanel said its sales jumped last year to a record just shy of $20 billion, although profits only edged higher.