History, Society, Culture, Fashion the story of Maskit
When she returned to her motherland, she discovered Israeli fashion's at its best – Maskit. After earning the blessing of Dayan, she began working with Maskit as its head designer, first honoring its history and legacy, then branching out to experiment with designs that modernized the brand to fit the 21st century. Yet Maskit always kept its spirit – to this day, the clothes are manufactured in Israel, and some of the brand's iconic designs are still its best sellers. It seems to be working – even Sarah Jessica Parker is expected to wear a Maskit design for the Sex and the City reboot.
Ruth Dayan at Age 97, Tel Aviv Fashion Week, Photographed by Aviv Baruch
In 2014, young spirits took over the historic brand when designer Sharon Tal decided to bring it back to life. Her journey to Maskit was as unique as the story of the brand itself – after graduating from Shenkar, the young designer moved to Europe, where she interned under Alber Elbaz at Lanvin and later became head of embroidery at Alexander McQueen(!).
Alber Elbaz. Courtesy AZ Factory
The brand used traditional embroidery techniques from Hungarian, Yemenite, Bulgarian, Bedouin, Palestinian, Druze, Lebanese, and Jewish artisans, bringing together old with new, inspired by the people and landscape of Israel. In a sense, Maskit was conceived as a social project just as much as a fashion project – it created jobs for new immigrants to Israel and preserved Jewish ethnic crafts and culture while inventing cutting-edge Israeli wear.
Neora Warshavsky Archive
What is Israeli fashion? This might seem like a straightforward question, but it is not so easily answered. The relatively new country and its melting pot history have made it difficult to pinpoint what exactly makes a certain design Israeli. Is it that the design is suitable for Israeli weather? Perhaps that it refers to traditional Jewish clothing? Or maybe every design made by an Israeli is automatically considered "Israeli design"?
One brand that seems to have crystallized the definition of Israeli fashion – and maybe even created it – is Maskit. Launched in the 1950s, during the early days of the state of Israel, Maskit was conceived by social activist Ruth Dayan. Dayan recognized the unique talent across the young country: the numerous artisans who immigrated to Israel holding traditional artistry that has been preserved for decades. She decided to create a brand that would both cherish that knowledge while creating fashion-forward designs.
Photo Cedit: Ben Lamb
When meeting the Impact Collections' members, Tal not only told the story of Maskit and her personal journey to become its head designer, but also shared with the group her creative process. She showed the members her sketches, inspirations, and the iconic elements of Maskit that are at the core of the brand, like the Desert Coat, that she reimagines for today's women and their lifestyle. It was like entering her mind and getting a glimpse of the process of fashion making – from idea to clothing.
Photo Credit : Itay Sikolski
Thinking about the story of Maskit, it seems like a story that exceeds the boundaries of design. It is a story about the development of culture, about the melting pot of Israel, the international inspirations it drew and draws to this day, and most importantly – it is a story about how women can make cultural and social change through fashion.
Photo Credit : Tomer Ben-Avi
