Tunisian designer Leïla Menchari, known for her window displays decorations of Hermès has died Saturday, April 4 at the age of 93 in Hammamet town, Tunisia after catching coronavirus, the French high fashion luxury manufacturer announced in a statement.
Menchari, dubbed as "The Queen of Enchantment", was born in Tunis in 1927. Her father was a lawyer and her mother was Habiba Menchari, who was known for her lectures on female empowerment.
She met Jean and Violet Henson when she was a teenager, who introduced her to horticulture and helped her meet many artists including, Man Ray, Jean Cocteau, and Christian Bérard.
Menchari enrolled at the Tunis Institute of Fine Arts in 1943, and in 1948 at the National School of Fine Arts l'École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts", where she met Tunisian-born couturier and shoe designer Azzedine Alaïa.
She also met Guy Laroche, French fashion designer and founder of the eponymous company, who helped her become a star model.
Menchari quit working at Laroche following the death of her mother and became the decorator of window displays for prestigious Hermès International headquarters at the 24 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré, where she was responsible for designing the traffic-stopping window displays.
She worked at Hermès for over fifty years, where she also designed gloves, bags, and clothing, including a coat that was worn by Mexican film actress-singer María Félix.
She was also responsible for many things including supervising the factoring of glass manufacturer Saint-Louis.
It is worth mentioning that the World Health Organization (WHO) declared coronavirus a global pandemic on March 11 as the new virus has rapidly spread to more than 800,000 people from Asia to the Middle East, Europe, and the United States.
The virus has infected more than one million people and killed over 69,498 worldwide. It also hit a number of celebrities and top political figures around the world.
The data collected so far showed that at least 961,692 people are infected and about 49,165 people have died.
Transmission of viruses between humans happens when someone comes into contact with an infected person’s secretions, such as droplets in a cough.
They can also be transmitted by coming into contact with something an infected person has touched and then touching your mouth, nose or eyes.
It is known that older people appear to be more vulnerable to the effects of the emerging virus.
Several Arab countries have tightened restrictions on movement and travel, with the aim of curbing the spread of the Coronavirus, and some have pledged billions of dollars in economic stimulus programs to reduce the economic repercussions of the crisis.
The virus caused complete paralysis in all activities and events with large gatherings worldwide due to concerns over the spread of the virus.
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