Top Tel Aviv designers debut their brand new winter collections

Whereas major cultural and political movements like #MeToo and Time’s Up are currently advocating the empowerment of women everywhere, the iconic Tel Aviv fashion house comme il faut (French for “properly”), has been steadfastly cultivating feminist awareness for over 20 years. Founded by CEO Sybil Goldfainer and designed today by Tal Rosenfarb, comme il faut is fashion for women by women, guided by the principle that a garment is never just a garment, but rather a critical tool for expressing a women’s place in society and – no less importantly – with herself.

The new comme il faut winter collection, I Am Who We Are, adds smart statement pieces that toy with conventional notions of gender and gender roles. “We do not want to choose between one thing or another – we want it all,” says Goldfainer. “We want to mix without overthinking, as we have the power to create a new language that is not a clash of contradictions. The items in the winter collection express a breach of boundaries between the accepted and unacceptable, between the familiar and the bold.” Featuring prominently in the collection: a skirt that at first glance looks like trousers, a pink bomber jacket, highwaisted cropped jeans, and a crumpled power suit. “Pink is one of our most prominent winter colors, and our thin, tight pink leather jacket blends in well with a casual jeans-and- T-shirt look, but also elevates our black evening dresses,” says Rosenfarb.

Hailing from a long line of Parisian men’s tailors, it is perhaps no wonder Nir Goeta’s instinct in designing women’s fashion tends toward the androgynous. HANNAH, the edgy womenswear brand he designs together with his wife, Rotem Goeta, is minimalist, cut to flatter and peppered withpocket details. “Whereas our outlook is heavily influenced by men’s clothing, traditional tailoring and work clothes, we select a different visual inspiration for each new line,” says Rotem. “Our fall/winter collection was inspired by Winona Ryder in the 1990s.”

Every HANNAH line is monochromatic, and denim is the mainstay of the new fall/ winter line, Denim Re-Edition, which features a pocket-happy denim trench coat, interesting denim button downs, simple T-shirts and T-shirt dresses embroidered with denim pockets and an A-line denim zipper skirt, among other signature looks. “The denim collection was launched in honor of HANNAH’s four-year anniversary and comprises iconic items from all of our previous seasons, sewn exclusively in denim,” says Rotem. “What characterizes our customers is their style – clean lines combined with elements of men’s clothing, forging a new, strong ,feminine look. We believe that style has no age or size – the person makes the garment.”

After graduating from Shenkar College of Engineering and Design, Noy Goz, Noa Gur, and Dafna Pilossof Rubin set their sights on launching a label that would contribute to a “minimalist landscape.” Since 2013, the TRES trio have been producing seasonal collections and timeless capsules that reflect a “proud nonchalance and a commitment to elegance that never sacrifices comfort,” says Goz.

The designers name the Girl Scouts youth organization as the direct inspiration for their winter collection’s couture patch-embroidered sweatshirts, long-sleeved dresses and knee-length skirts in bold “wildlife” prints, and wide-legged, high-waisted denim, khaki and black cotton trousers. “We chose deep greens, browns, and reds for the winter line in a gesture to the scouting experience, to TRES camping in the wilderness,” says Goz. “This is, to date, our most colorful collection.”

ATA (Ariga Totzeret Artzenu or “Textiles from Our Land”) opened its factory doors in 1935 in pre-state Mandatory Palestine, dressing residents of all walks of life, including the British army, for the next five decades. “Everyone in Israel has his or her own memory of ATA, what it was and what it meant,” says ATA’s current head designer, Yael Shenberger, who, together with businessman Shahar Segal, bought the iconic brand in 2011 and launched a reimagined ATA label in 2016. “ATA today draws from the same core values that guided ATA always – these are clothes, not fashion. We wear clothes, because they serve a purpose. We want to remind people of this fact.”

Durability, simplicity, and sustainability are some of the principles guiding Shenberger’s vision for today’s ATA, which, she insists, “is still a work in progress.” “I really believe you have to produce clothes for people, not change people’s tastes to suit one trend or another,” says Shenberger whose new winter collection features stiff cotton “factory” jackets in vivid hues, pocket-emblazoned button-downs, retro velvet pullovers, and tailored, pinched at-the-waist, knee-length trench coats. “The fashion world teaches us to use clothes for a short period of time – for a season at most,” says Shenberger. “We at ATA want our pieces to stand the test of time.”

Mizo’s look envelops the body without restricting it, bearing clean lines that remarkably emphasize the feminine physique. “When I was pregnant, I could not identify with the concept of maternity wear, so I designed my own,” says Inbal Ben-Zaken, a former dancer and choreographer who launched the Tel Aviv label in 2003. “I received so much positive feedback, so many requests, that the rest is history.” Signifying “flow” and “fluidity” in Japanese, Mizo, the label, draws enormous inspiration from the island nation where Ben-Zaken spent time leading creative dance workshops. “Simplicity and movement are a permanent fixture in Mizo, but my muses vary from the texture of a tree to an intriguing figure,” says Ben- Zaken whose winter collection took root in a film about Amelia Earhart, the intrepid pilot who died while attempting to circumnavigate the globe in 1937.

Cut from vintage-style fabrics and trimmings – velvet, satin, silk, sequins, synthetic fur, and viscose – and a palette of black, white, silver, gold, green and purple shades, the Mizo winter threads are bold, yet “have the potential to stand alone, to become classics,” says Ben-Zaken. “We are in the business of creating classics – not following trends.”

For Aviva Zilberman, style is the ultimate paradox. “You really can be sharp and soft, elegant and strong, colorful and savage, smart and sensitive and fabric is the best canvas for this harmony,” she says. “You are a ‘lady’ in the truest sense of the word, not because you are wearing a skirt, but because the skirt affords you the ability to move freely, to express your passions, to dance to the music.” Zilberman’s plant-dotted shop on Melchett Street is the “it” place for women of all ages and lifestyles in Tel Aviv.

Pared-down, snug elegance is what Zilberman sews into every invitingly soft T-shirt, jersey frock, oversized button down and wrap dress. Zilberman’s latest fall collection, Fleur de Reve (“Flower of Dreams”) is bursting with color: burgundy, orange, electric blue, deep green and fuchsia. “The new line is vibrant and rich with textures and textiles – it is truly the field of my dreams,” says Zilberman. “This is my attempt to create new shapes that are at once natural and rich. Like flowers, we are alive, but we are not always open and blossoming, not always willing to be touched – full of thorns. The collection recalls this through bold colors and smart and sculptured cuts.”

Fashion runs in designer Sabina Musayev’s blood. “My father and grandfather were tailors, so the love of women’s clothing was passed down to me,” she says. “I feel like I did not choose fashion – it chose me.” The Sabina Musayev label, launched in 2011 by Musayev and her partner Meir Moyal, showcases traditional techniques born in the rich textile heritage of her Azerbaijani roots and a cutting, modern perspective acquired from Musayev’s training at Shenkar College for Design and Engineering. At the center of the Sabina Musayev label lies the modern woman – her ambitions, her interests and her concerns. “Our clientele have a certain attitude,” she says. “They are confident, but self-aware. They enjoy dressing up and standing out, but they would never want to look like they are trying too hard.”

Musayev’s creative process is textile-led. “Searching for the right materials is the most fascinating part of the process for me. When I discover an element that captivates me, I plan the design around it. I honor the material and tell its story,” she says. Musayev’s winter collection – ruffle detail blouses, flowing jumpsuits, high-waisted bell skirts, and ankle-skimming floral dresses – pays homage to Louis XIV and French resort life of the early 1670s. The designers blended warm earth tones with metallic fabrics to create looks that are “rich and sophisticated but quiet and easy at the same time,” says Musayev.