"Fashion is no less a part of our culture than sports, poetry,
literature, painting, sculpture and cinema," MK Einat Wilf said Sunday
at the opening night of the second annual Tel Aviv Fashion Week.
The
well-dressed MK stood behind the podium, before the flashing cameras,
and fashion journalists eager to hear her insight into the rapidly
expanding world of Israeli fashion.
Wilf, chairwoman of the
Knesset Education, Culture and Sports committee spoke at event held at
the Tahana old train station. The evening included this year’s first
runway show, featuring guest of honor Italian designer, Moschino. She
announced her passion for fashion to the crowd and said that fashion is,
“all that’s good in personal expression, innovation and boldness.”
Wilf
shared the stage with Ofir Lev, the president of the event and Bill
Shapiro, representing Moschino. Each had new ideas of what fashion means
to Israeli culture.
The kick-off evening of Tel Aviv’s first
week of glamor also included a reception where fashion journalists were
able to rub elbows with some of the finest Israeli designers and
socialites.
Israeli husband-wife design duo, Phillip and Helena
Blaustein of Frau Blau, were one of many creative teams at the event.
They made the evening a family affair and brought along their daughter
Luna, who was also dressed to impress, in a mini white fur vest.
Although
there were a few organizational and technical errors at the opening
night of the event, the evening ended with a proverbial bang.
The
debut of the 2013 collection from Moschino was quite the spectacle,
full of 70s inspired cuts and prints that were exploding with color and
metallic embellishment. The show included a men's line as well, which
also featured a focus of color, but from a different standpoint, full of
prints and patterns resembling old advertisements. The show closed with
a few classic looks from previous collections.
Shapiro, part of
the Moschino design team, said that the 2013 collection is about love
and having a good time. The nostalgic collection represents the love and
passion for designing clothes over the years. “We can really feel that
love and passion from Israel,” said Shapiro.
Ofir
Lev, now the sole president of the event, could not express enough
excitement about having a guest as prevalent in the design community as
Moschino, and one from a country as fashionably notorious as Italy.
“We
view Moschino as the ultimate example of establishment and
sophistication in haute couture for budding Israeli designers," said
Lev.
Opening this year’s fashion week with Moschino, he added,
demonstrates a close collaboration between the Israeli and Italian
fashion industries. A connection, which he hopes, will continue to grow.
“Maybe next year, we will have an Israeli designer open Milan fashion week,” said Lev hopefully.
Not
only has this event established ties with the Italian fashion
community, but with style experts from across the globe. With a combined
audience of 20,000 over the course of the three-day event, attendees
will include local celebrities and politicians, as well as top foreign
fashion media from across Europe, the United States and Asia.
Lev wants the foreign media to take their experiences home with them and share what they saw in Tel Aviv with their readers.
“We
want to change the concept of what Israel is. This is not just a place
on the Mediterranean with camels and M-16s,” said Lev, followed by a
roar of laughter form the Israelis in the audience.
The talent of
young designers in Israel is endless, and Lev hopes to give them a
platform in the global fashion community.“The goal is to show Israeli
designs and open doors for Israeli designers,” said Lev.
The
week will feature more than 15 designer collections, including renowned
Israeli designer Michal Negrin, the eccentric Frau Blau, Galit Levy,
Anya Fleet, and more, including some emerging student designers.
Unlike
last year, this year will see two separate fashion weeks taking place
in Tel Aviv, resulting from a curious split between last year’s fashion
week team, Ofir Lev, deputy CEO of the Israel Textile and Fashion
Association and Motty Reif, publicist and producer. The second of the
two fashion weeks will begin only a week after the first of November
26th in south Tel Aviv.