Can Israel be a fashion nation?
New York Fashion Week founder Fern Mallis addresses Israel's first fashion conference
The first professional fashion conference in Israel took place in Tel Aviv last week, marking a significant turning point for the Israeli fashion industry.
Founded by fashion lawyer Rachel Zilberfarb and Romi Harush, the conference explored the core of the local fashion scene, as well as its business, culture and economy, while attempting to answer one important question: What is the future of the Israeli fashion industry?
Alongside a small exhibition featuring top Israeli fashion designers, the conference included panels with industry leaders and fashion insiders, including New York Fashion Week founder Fern Mallis, who addressed the critical issues the fashion industry is facing today, from the growing influence of digital creators and breaking into the international fashion industry, to understanding the modern Israeli consumer. Yet the most significant panel defined the real purpose of the conference: Can Israel be a fashion nation?
The speakers took into account the fact that Israel is facing ongoing wars and crises, which often push the arts, culture and fashion to the sidelines, while governmental financial support for the industry remains limited.
As they addressed the challenges facing the Israeli fashion industry, they also highlighted its greatest strengths: the country’s bridal designers, who are taking over New York and are considered among the leading names in the global market, and Israel’s fashion-tech sector, which has flourished alongside the country’s high-tech ecosystem. The panel not only identified the industry’s challenges but also offered practical solutions for the young generation of Israeli fashion designers.
Fern Mallis shared her perspective, experience and knowledge, reminding us attendees what building a fashion industry is really about. Mallis, often referred to as the godmother of fashion, founded New York Fashion Week as we know it today and served as the executive director of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), helping many of today’s leading designers launch their careers.
She shared key points from the beginning of her role at the CFDA. “This is something we all have to do together. There’s strength in numbers when the industry works together,” she said, recalling the fragmented state of the American fashion industry before the 1990s.
“The new generation of designers understands that working together can really make a change. You need to be passionate about what you do, you need to love what you do, and you need to be talented. But the first thing I always say to designers is ‘be nice’, and people think I’m crazy. But it’s probably the most important thing you need.”
Mallis emphasised the importance of partnerships and collaborations in moving the Israeli fashion industry a step forward. “I wish you would get together as a unit, from the fashion schools and the manufacturers to the designers. I want you to find what you do that’s special, that makes us want to wear your clothes. Find your voice, be authentic, be original. Don’t try to be anything else.”
The conference highlighted that uniting as a professional industry, in a world full of obstacles for Israeli and Jewish individuals, is more important than ever. In a country where fashion is rarely a national priority, finding your voice and building a stronger system to support Israeli talent is no longer just an aspiration, but a necessity.
As the founders of the Israeli Fashion Conference concluded: “We have advanced technologies, groundbreaking designers, innovative programmess at the leading fashion schools, and partnerships between different sectors. As we have seen today, fashion can bridge cultural, political and economic gaps, and we are happy the industry received the spotlight it deserves. We have work to do.”
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