Amid Israel-Hamas War, Tel Aviv-based Bridal Designers ‘Grieve’ and Develop Plans
As the Israel-Hamas war intensifies, several Tel Aviv-based bridal designers discussed how they were trying to come to terms with Saturday’s unprecedented attack by militants and how their companies will carry on.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the highly coordinated conflict had claimed more than 1,200 lives, including civilians. Members of the Israeli forces and civilians, including U.S. and other foreign nationals, are believed to be among the more than 100 people who are believed to be held as hostages by Hamas.
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Galia Lahav’s Sharon Sever, Pnina Tornai and Julie Vino are among the Israeli creatives who are in New York for this week’s bridal market. Tornai and Vino only learned of what happened upon landing in the U.S. Saturday. Despite being worried about loved ones in Israel and still processing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement “We are at war,” the designers were stalwart about their future.
In New York for her runway show at Kleinfelds to mark a 20-year union, Tornai said she awoke Saturday morning to the news of Hamas’ attacks and was convinced that it was a jetlagged-induced nightmare and she would soon wake up. “I’m still grieving. This horror is beyond all levels of imagination. Humanity should pause for a moment to think about whether we are letting this happen anywhere in the world. It doesn’t have to be just in my country,” she said. “As humanity, we need to care for each other, love each other and to understand that we really are all one. What can happen somewhere in the world today can happen in some other place tomorrow.”
Concerns about others’ safety are heightened by the fact that Israel’s size — slightly larger than the state of New Jersey — means many residents know one another, especially within the fashion community, the designer said. Those in her circle are currently safe, but are in and out of shelters for protection. “My grandchildren are terrified, calling me to say, ‘Grandma, do you also have to go into the shelter where you are?’ I tell them, ‘No, it’s not happening here, just there.’”
Her 30 workshop employees remain in their Tel Aviv homes “because it is too dangerous to walk the streets. There are still a lot of terrorists free in Israel, as well as all the missiles and rockets [that are being fired],” Tornai said.
It’s hard to think of peace when more than 1,200 people were murdered and kids, women and the elderly were kidnapped and executed. But we hope it ends quickly and we can get back to our families.”
Julie Vino
With two factories in Ukraine, the company has been going through this with “our Ukrainian family, because they are like family to us, for two years” due to the Russian invasion there, she said. In business for 30 years, the bridal company also has factories in Thailand and Poland, and plans to continue operations.
Having survived a suicide bomb attack in the mid-’90s and an abusive marriage, Tornai said she nixed a meeting at the World Trade Center on the morning of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, after having a dream about being on an airplane hijacked by terrorists. “As an Israeli, my country has survived many, many wars against our enemies. We’re not going to give up. We are going to operate wherever we need to operate,” Tornai said. “We will continue to show that Israeli designers are among the best designers in the world.”
Pnina Tornai’s runway show has been rescheduled for Nov. 2. Coincidentally, the collection’s name of “Utopia” was inspired by the song “Better Days” from Arman Cekin. Knowing that brands made appointments to meet with her months in advance, Tornai will meet with them, as well as buyers, while in New York through mid-November.
“My calling is to bring down to earth as much beauty as I can to make women feel as the most beautiful versions of themselves as they walk down the aisle to commit to the love of their lives,” Tornai said. “We will show these dresses. We are not afraid of anyone. I’m here to do what I need to do and I will continue doing it until my last breath.”
Galia Lahav canceled its press preview, but head designer Sharon Sever traveled to New York Tuesday. “We’re concerned about everything. We’re concerned about our lives. It’s the biggest catastrophe that has happened to us in our entire existence as a country,” he said Wednesday.
Describing how he learned of the attacks, he said that “alarm after alarm” had woken him and his husband Saturday morning. They then spent a few hours in their safe room, listening to the news. “We weren’t expecting anything. We were in the holiday season and the last one was Saturday. Of course, we didn’t celebrate anything,” he said. “Some of the attacks were right next door. We live by the beach. It’s a very small country. The distance between Gaza and where my mom lives, and Tel Aviv is a 20- to 30-minute drive. There were bombs everywhere and the first rockets were aimed at the [city] center. When the terrorists started entering Israel, it was everywhere. There were alerts that some were right next to us.”
That evening they went to the store and “everyone was running to buy supplies. The shelves were pretty much empty,” Sever said. The following day the 40-year-old company’s nearly 100 employees stayed at home, but he drove 10 minutes to the office, fed the cat and left. As for his decision to take the weeklong trip to the U.S., Sever said, “It’s hard to make people’s dreams come true, when you’re living a nightmare. But you’re in this business and being an Israeli and a Jew, you have to be resilient. We know we stand by our military and our people. We know how supportive the USA is. It’s very important to make a stand, to be there for everyone and let our retailers know we are strong and we will deliver.”
On a personal note, Sever said, “I came here because I need a hug from everyone that I know.”
He made the point that the national airlines El Al has not canceled any flights (and has added some to ferry reservists back from other places). Recalling driving his car to the Ben Gurion Airport, Sever said, “You just hoped that you wouldn’t see any rockets landing in front of you.”
Looking ahead to his return, Sever, a nearly 30-year veteran with Galia Lahav, said, “Keeping people safe is up to everyone. Everyone has to take care of themselves. But the main fighting zone is everywhere. It’s in the cities, not just around the borders.”
As the attacks continue, donating funding, food and clothing will be paramount, he said. “First of all, you have to support each other. Then you have to support the ones in need — people serving in the military, their families, all of the victims’ families and the people who had their dearest ones slaughtered and murdered. What are they going to do tomorrow?”
Another Tel Aviv-based designer, Julie Vino, only learned of the situation in Israel upon arrival in the U.S. Saturday. Had that happened before her departure, she never would have boarded the flight, she said. Her signature store and 15-year-old namesake company employs about 35 people. Although everyone she knows is safe, everyone has had brothers and cousins drafted into the Israel Defense Forces. Being apart from her three children and husband, who are now staying in their house’s safe room 24/7, has left her feeling unwell. Her American return flight has subsequently been canceled so she expects to return a few days later than planned.
Vino shared a message of solidarity with members of the media Tuesday and her new 12th floor, 3,000-square-foot store at 243 West 30th Street has opened as planned. The fashion show there will be used to spread awareness about everything that is happening in Israel, the designer said with the help of a translator. “Israel is our country and we’re proud of it 1,000 percent.” The Julie Vino store in Tel Aviv remains temporarily closed, and staffers are staying at home. “Schools aren’t open. Everything is pretty much closed,” Vino said.
As for the best route to peace, Vino said the events of the past few days have made her lose hope for peace in the near future. “It’s hard to think of peace when more than 1,200 people were murdered and kids, women and the elderly were kidnapped and executed. But we hope it ends quickly and we can get back to our families. No child deserves to die.”
New York-based bridal retailer Mark Ingram said he called all of the designers that he works with in Tel Aviv, including Eisen-Stein Bridal and Alon Livne, on Saturday morning to make sure that they and their families were safe. “These Israeli people are my friends. I work for them on a friendship level first and foremost.”
Ingram said that he was eager to see the Eisen-Stein and Alon Livne teams in New York this week. “They are all up-and-running, of course, with limitations. It’s such a positive thing to hear. It is an extreme situation and a tragic one, but they will do what they will do.”
Knowing that clients will be nervous about gowns that are being shipped from Israel, Ingram said, “We do want to send a message to our clients.”
Although the chasm between an ongoing war and wedding gowns may seem leagues apart, such seeming disparities are quite entwined beyond nervous brides. Increasingly, political and world events are weighing on consumers and that creates challenges for retailers, Ingram said. “We’re going into an election year. People are concerned about their jobs, economic stability, and politics, and of course world events. Every day it’s something new — between climate change, immigration…all of these things affect your mood, your spending, where you’re going to have your wedding and how you’re going to celebrate it. There are always environmental and external elements that make for change.”
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