Žuži Jelinek: A Croatian woman you should know

In my research for my Women Wednesday posts on The Croatian Project, I have been blessed enough to come across some incredible Croatian women in history.

Like with anything, there are just some stories that stick with you more than others.

One such story was the life of Žuži Jelinek.

I’m going to say it now: there needs to be a biopic about her right now.

Žuži Jelinek was a Hungarian-born Croatian fashion designer, stylist and writer.

Born in Budapest in 1920 as Suzana Farber, her family moved to Zagreb soon after she was born. Her father was from Ludberg (a town near Varaždin) and her mother was from Hungary, and the pair met at a specialised school for deaf people in the area.

It was Žuži’s early experiences of humiliation that shaped her into the person she became. She grew up in poverty, and as a result, vowed to create a successful life for herself. An example of the humiliation she faced was when her aunty (who married a rich man in Zagreb) received Žuži and her family in the kitchen whenever they would visit because they were too poor and shameful to be in any of the house’s salons.

At 17, Žuži graduated from the Zagreb School of Tailors and moved to Paris. She worked at the factory of Nina Ricci, where she would later meet Coco Chanel. In a directness familiar to many Croatians, she told Coco Chanel that the dress she wore didn’t suit her. Coco Chanel responded: ‘what do you know, little chump? Who do you think you are?’.

The next day, Žuži got a job working for Coco Chanel.

At the outbreak of World War II, Žuži returned to Zagreb where she met her first husband, a dentist, Dr.Erich Jelinek.

Her 2 brothers were sent to concentration camps and killed. When she heard that her parents were set to be transported to a concentration camp, she seduced an Italian officer to make sure that did not occur. She stated in an interview that she had no shame in what she did and did what she had to do to save her parents.

After the war, she moved to the US with her husband and 2 children. She established a name for herself- so much so that it caught Marshall Tito’s attention and annoyed him. He offered her a huge position at Teteks in Macedonia, but she declined. As a result, she was told to leave Yugoslavia. Her family moved to Geneva.

However, the exile didn’t last long courtesy of Jovanka Broz’s admiration for her work. As a result, she was invited back to Yugoslavia to make dresses for Tito’s wife.

After Žuži retired from designing, she started writing books and magazine columns. She authored 8 books, and was a regular contributor to the Croatian women’s magazine, Gloria.

She died in 2016 at the age of 95.

When I researched her story, I was baffled. Everyone has their own unique story, but Žuži’s?

It stood out for me.

How about you?