Edina Ronay was born in Budapest where her parents lived before the Second World War. At the time Budapest was equal to Paris as an artistic and cultural centre of Europe. Edina's family owned several restaurants around Budapest, the most famous of which was Belvarosi, an elegant, galleried restaurant in the heart of the city. Writers, actors, musicians, film-makers and local politicians would gather at Belvarosi daily to talk, drink, eat and, most importantly, be seen. Edina’s parents and grandparents were very much part of and central to Budapest's society and every evening her grandmother would have her hair styled, dress up in haute couture clothing and adorn herself in beautiful jewellery to hold court in her restaurant. During the war, Edina’s family lost everything. Immediately afterwards, Edina’s father, who had studied law at Cambridge, was far-sighted enough to realise the political situation was changing in Hungary and packed the family up and moved them to England to start a new life. Having grown up in the restaurant industry, it felt only natural for him to open a restaurant of his own in London, and for good measure, Egon decided to open it directly opposite Harrods in Knightsbridge. A few years later, he started The Egon Ronay Guide, which became an enormous success and made him a household name in Britain. Edina’s mother had always been very chic and dressed exquisitely. In Hungary, Edina remembers her mother's wardrobe being full of couture clothing, custom-made hats and made-to-measure shoes. Even after her parents moved to London and their financial circumstances changed, they continued to care very much about their appearance. Her mother and her friends, members of the exiled Hungarian community, would always dress up for tea, dinner parties and even just at home. Because of Edina’s parents, an interest in quality and style was instilled in Edina from an early age and it was this interest which has proved so important in her career. As a child, Edina loved to paint and draw and was happiest with a paintbrush and a sheet of paper. Her father encouraged her interest in art, allowing her to leave school at the age of 16 to study fashion at Saint Martin’s School of Art in London. However, after only one year at Saint Martin’s, Edina was spotted by a film producer and cast in her first movie, leading her to study at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, which provided many opportunities for her to perform in repertory theatre and star in films and television series'. London in the late 60s was a very exciting place to be. The film industry was booming and Edina worked with many famous actors, directors, writers and musicians in repertory theatre, fim and television series'. Edina became somewhat of an "It Girl" and was one of England's up and coming young actresses of the time. Her husband, Dick Polak, was a film producer when she met him, and cast her in the leading role of the film he was making and they’ve been inseparable ever since. After making that film and directing Edina in another, Dick and Edina spent a year travelling, living in Morocco, Ibiza and Formentera. When they returned to London they found a declining film industry and Edina decided to work as a model while collecting and selling vintage lace and dresses, returning to her first love: fashion. In the early 70s, Edina Ronay opened a shop on the King's Road in Chelsea, selling her vintage lace and clothing. Edina would find her stock of 30s and 40s vintage sweaters and dresses all over the country in jumble sales, street markets and in auction rooms. Inspired by her knitwear finds, Edina began designing her own sweaters, selecting and combining details she liked and re-colouring them into new and contemporary silhouettes and designs. The sweaters were such a huge success in her shop that one of Edina's close friends, fashion designer Ossie Clark, suggested that other shops might also want to sell her designs. Edina made up a small wholesale collection and took it to an international buyers’ fair in London. The sweaters were an immediate success and were soon selling all over Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Australia, Japan, the USA and Canada. Designing knitwear always remained attractive to Edina, but gradually she found herself drawn into other areas, and began to include trousers and skirts in her collections to complement the sweaters in her shop. They too sold so very well, leading her to put together a full collection which she took to the fashion fairs in New York, Paris, Tokyo, Milan and London. Her collections were soon carried by all the luxury department stores including Browns, Liberty, Harrods and Harvey Nichols in London, Barneys, Bergdorfs and Bloomingdale's in New York, Takashimaya in Tokyo and Printemps in Paris. Edina Ronay has earned critical acclaim for her luxurious handmade knitwear, detailed tailoring and exquisite evening and summer dresses. She has dressed some of the most elegant and beautiful women in the world, from Royalty to red carpet stars including The Princess of Wales, Twiggy, Jerry Hall, Nicole Kidman, Scarlett Johansson and Kate Moss, amongst many others.
