daniel hechter was born in paris, france, in a family who owned a ready-to-wear company. as such, hechter was brought up in an environment sympathetic to fashion. at the age of four, he was forced to flee from paris with his mother and did not see his father, a prisoner of war, until he was seven. he married marika hechter; they have a daughter, hechter then married jennifer chambon in 1980. he served in the french army from 1958 to 1960.