Alexis von Rosenberg, Baron de Redé

French socialite

Oskar Dieter Alex von Rosenberg Redé, 3rd Baron von Rosenberg Redé (4 February 1922 – 8 July 2004), also known as Alexis, Baron de Redé, was a prominent French banker, aristocrat, aesthete, collector, and socialite. In 2003, he was appointed a commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres was born in Zurich, Switzerland on 4 February 1922, the third and youngest child of Oskar Adolf von Rosenberg (1878–1939), a banker from Austria Hungary. His father – whose mother was Hungarian and father unknown – had been adopted by a banker named Rosenberg and made a citizen of Liechtenstein, then created a baron in the Hungarian nobility by the Emperor of Austria in 1916. Redé's mother was Edith von Kaulla (1890—1931), a member of an ennobled that had been part owners of the Royal Württemberg Court Bank (″Königlich Württembergische Hofbank″, founded by Karoline Kaulla and Raphael Kaulla). The children were brought up Protestant and raised in a 16 room hotel suite He traveled to California to work for an antique dealer, and they became lovers and traveled together, moving between suites in European and American hotels, the house in Neuilly, a yacht (Gaviota IV), and an apartment in California. In 1956, at Redé's Bal des Têtes, the young Yves Saint Laurent provided many of the headdresses—the Duchess of Windsor being one of the judges—and received a boost to his career. An event Redé threw at the Hotel Lambert, the Oriental Ball (Bal oriental) in December 1969, When Diana Vreeland heard of the plans for the event, she promptly contacted Redé and expressed her interest in having the event photographed for Vogue. The guest list was the crème de la crème of international high society.

As his partner, Redé was closely involved with managing Lopez Willshaw's financial affairs, which he did "adroitly." In 1962, when Arturo Lopez Willshaw died, Redé inherited half of his fortune. To manage it, he joined Prince Rupert Loewenstein in taking control of Leopold Joseph & Sons, a bank where he served as the deputy chairman. With Loewenstein, Redé was closely involved in managing the money of the Rolling Stones. Redé was also a founder of Artemis, an investment fund specializing in the purchase of fine art. In 1972, Redé had his portrait painted by the fashionable painter Anthony Christian, and he was named in the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame. Also in 1972, Redé won the Prix de Diane horse race, and the same year he came in second at the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. for his restoration of the Hôtel Lambert. He continued to entertain at the Lambert until 2004. Redé was romantically involved with Arturo Lopez Willshaw, a married businessman, from 1941 until Lopez Wilshaw's death in 1962. Redé maintained his apartment at the Hotel Lambert throughout his later years, remaining an active host. A mass was held at Saint Louis en L'Isle on July 13, at the church near the Hotel Lambert. He was interred in a crypt at Pere Lachaise near the tomb of Arturo Lopez Willshaw. A larger memorial was held in September. His memoirs, Alexis: The Memoirs of the Baron de Redé, were published posthumously in 2005. Hugo Vickers was its editor and ghostwriter.