HUSBAND and wife team Mourad Amarsy and Loumia Hiridjee, founders of lingerie brand Princesse Tam Tam, were buried during a private ceremony in Paris yesterday; they were killed during last week's terrorist attacks in Mumbai when the Oberoi/Trident Hotel, where they were hosting a dinner party, came under fire. At least 188 people are believed to have died in the three-day siege that ended on Saturday.

The couple had split their time between Paris and Mumbai since 2007. Hiridjee was born in Madagascar but moved to the French capital at the age of 13, where she became fascinated with fashion. "In Madagascar, one rarely dressed up," she explained in a 2005 interview. "In Paris, I saw beautiful women."

She founded Princesse Tam Tam - so called after the 1935 film of of the same name, starring Josephine Baker - in 1985 with Amarsy, who was happy to handle the business side of things away from the spotlight, and her sister, Shama. They built it into an empire (which now boasts 158 stores worldwide), winning various awards en route, before selling it to Japanese outfit Speed Retailing in 2005.

At the time of her death, Hiridjee remained design director of Princesse Tam Tam and was also busy developing a lifestyle website for Indian women in order to promote independence and empowerment.

Former colleague Laurence Teinturier, executive vice president of CurvExpo Inc, remembered her to WWD as "a modest, no-nonsense woman and had incredible drive and passion".

The couple are survived by two sons and a daughter.