Designer Helga Oppenheimer Dies
Helga K. Oppenheimer, who designed high-end suits and eveningwear for her namesake company Helga Inc. for 40 years, died on Jan. 6 at her Los Angeles home.
The German-born Oppenheimer was known for her suits, gowns and cocktail dresses made from refined European fabrics. She founded Helga Inc. with husband Walter in San Francisco in 1947 and moved the business to Los Angeles in 1952. The Oppenheimers operated Helga through the mid-1980s, when they sold it to businessman Michael Shore. Helga continued designing through the late ’80s until she retired.
She was known as a steadfast designer who stuck to more tailored and formal looks when most California-based designers concentrated on sportswear. She was a regular at the Parisian couture shows and traveled throughout Europe and the United Kingdom in search of the best silks and wool fabrics she could find. Aside from being a connoisseur of fabrics, she and her husband were known as generous patrons of the arts, being benefactors the UCLA Hammer Museum, among other institutions. They also contributed to the UCLA School of Public Health, Cedars-Sinai Heart Research, City of Hope and the Hebrew and Ben Gurion universities in Israel.
Oppenheimer is survived by her husband and a brother, Werner Kallman. Private services were held. —Robert McAllister
