_-_Tami_Ben_Ami_in_a_Gottex_Bathing_Suit.jpg)
Israeli fashion refers to fashion design and modeling in Israel.
Israel has become an international center of fashion and design.[1] Tel Aviv has been called the “next hot destination” for fashion.[2] Israeli designers, such as swimwear company Gottex, show their collections at leading fashion shows, including New York’s Bryant Park fashion show.[3] In 2011, Tel Aviv hosted its first Fashion Week since the 1980s, with Italian designer Roberto Cavalli as a guest of honor.[4]
The ATA textile factory was founded in Kfar Ata in 1934 by Erich Moller, a Jewish industrialist from Czechoslovakia. ATA specialized in work clothes and uniforms, reflecting the Zionist and socialist ideology of the time.[5]Factory production spanned every aspect of garment-making, from thread manufacture to sewing and packaging.[6] The name of the factory was invented by Hebrew novelist S.Y. Agnon. ATA is an acronym for the Hebrew words "Arigei Totzeret Artzeinu" - "fabrics manufactured in our land."[7]
In the early years of the state, Ruth Dayan, wife of Moshe Dayan, founded Maskit, a fashion and decorative arts house that helped to create jobs for new immigrants while preserving the Jewish ethnic crafts of various communities living in Israel.[8] In 1955, Dayan met fashion designer Finy Leitersdorf, who designed clothes and accessories for Maskit for 15 years. The two collaborated on a joint exhibit of Maskit designs at the Dizengoff Museum (today the Tel Aviv Museum).[8] Maskit produced textiles, clothing, objets d’art and jewelry.[9]
In 1956, Lea Gottlieb founded Gottex, a high-fashion beachwear and swimwear company that became a leading exporter of designer bathing suits.[10]
Israeli fashion has been worn by some of the world's most famous women, among them Jackie Kennedy, Princess Diana, Katharine Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor and Sarah Jessica Parker.[11]