A Green Fashion Event Green Inspired by the Sea of Galilee

November 7, 2010 - 9:26 AM by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Environment, Pop Culture 

fashion sea of galileeIsraeli fashion show attempts to go “au naturale” with a natural-landmark-themed garment contest.

Fashion and the natural world don’t always go hand in hand (unless you’re lucky enough to come across some whimsical banana-shaped pumps by designers such as Kobi Levi). Or believe that the evil eye can be warded off by wearing a hand-made hamsa bracelet.

Usually haute couture is the anti-natural, with silhouettes that combat the shapes that we were born with and materials (such as fur) that require the destruction of something natural. Yet in an attempt to come up with a national garment for Israelis, fashion designers decided to center their inspiration on the natural. Namely, on Israel’s only fresh water lake, the Sea of Galilee which is now severely depleted.

Displayed in a garment design contest/fashion show in Tiberias (a city that is located on the shores of the Sea of Galilee) during the last few days of Sukkot, a recent Jewish holiday, the designers demonstrated that the natural is a powerful source of inspiration. The designers were also calling attention to the fact that the lake is in serious trouble in need of a serious makeover.

The Sea of Galilee is Israel’s largest fresh water reservoir and is a major source for Israeli water consumption. The water levels have steadily declined over recent years, due to years of drought, and now the levels are so low that there is danger that the lake may become salt water.

To go one step further: We also know that designers love having flowers delivered to the stage –– a huge thing on American runways. For future events let’s hope the organizers are inspired to order flowers not grown with excessive water and chemicals. Maybe wild desert flowers from Israel – ones that aren’t protected?

Liraz Rubin, one of the fashion designers whose work was displayed in the show, said that “my design is inspired by the lake, where the fish want to live but the water is getting scarce and the lake is sad. You can see in the design itself that the fishermen can hardly find any fish. It’s a cry to save the Sea of Galilee and its fish.”

For some of the judges, though, the focus was more on fashion and less on conservation. Yuval Kaspin, an Israeli celebrity designer and one of the judges, said that “in some of the designs the connection between the Sea and the garment was definitely discernible. The designs which caught our attention the most were those that indeed reminded us of the Sea, but did not ‘over-chew’ the concept for us.”

:NTDTV

Read more about green fashion:
“New Dress A Day” Blog Takes Consumerism Out of the Fresh Fashion Equation
Are Kobi Levi’s Tongue Shoes Fit for Dancing?
EcoGir Flaunts Its Recycled Polyester Suits During New York Fashion Week

(This post has been written by Karen Chernick, from Green Prophet) It is cross-posted there. And on Middle East Youth.

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Nostalgia Sunday – Michal Negrin World

April 12, 2009 - 4:57 PM by · 4 Comments
Filed under: Art, General, Nostalgia Sunday, Pop Culture, Travel 

negrin-column2There’s something about Michal Negrin. Whether you love her retro n’ roses style or hate it — there seems to be no in-between — there’s no disputing that Negrin has tapped into a reservoir of emotion among women longing for a certain time that seems, at least on the face of it, to have been lovelier, more civilized, more sedate and possibly more fun.

Negrin has come a long way from her stand at the Nahlat Binyamin crafts fair and the little shop on Sheinkin Street, where Russian ladies used to painstakingly crochet, wrap, stitch and glue each encrusted earring, necklace and pin by hand. Today, she has die-hard fans and store locations around the world. And when those fans come from Paris or Palm Beach to Israel their mission is clear: get new Negrin pieces from the source.

The answer lies off the beaten track south of Tel Aviv in Bat Yam, at the accessories designer’s new central office, workshop and showroom. This is where the company’s 160 artisans carry out the delicate process of mounting and hand painting jewelry and decorative items, creating fashion, printing fabric, molding ceramics and more. It’s also a showcase for items created by Michal Negrin herself.

And now, there is the new visitor’s center, Michal Negrin World. This really is a world as Negrin would like to see it: a fantastic display of romantic roses and baby’s breath, lace, crystals and a just a hint of old-fashioned naughtiness.

The exhibit includes dollhouses, puppets and multilevel dioramas designed by Negrin and her husband Meir. There’s a cafe, and guided tours of the workshops and showroom. Negrin herself says, “I wanted to create a place that would be surprising… flooded with optimism and happiness, inviting visitors a peek into the worlds of my content and creativity.”

Some fun facts: Negrin wove a magical spell on the costume designers of “Harry Potter and the order of Phoenix”, when a ring and brooch were commissioned for actress Imelda Staunton, who played cat-obsessed senior undersecretary to the Minister of Magic Dolores Umbridge. Her celebrity fans, according to ISRAEL21c, include Demi Moore, Nicole Kidman, Britney Spears, Alicia Keys and Jane Seymour. And Negrin nostalgia has even extended to the sports arena; in 2008, she was commissioned by the Israel Olympic Committee to design the formal lapel pin for the Israeli team (pictured here).

negrin_olympic_pinMichal Negrin World is open to the public Sun-Thu, 9:00am-3:00pm. Tours must be booked in advance. Tel: 972-3-555-3326. Address: 7 Kaf Tet B’November St., Bat Yam.

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Ward Off Evil Eyes With Handmade Israeli Jewelry and Jewish Gifts From Israel

December 20, 2008 - 6:13 PM by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: design 

jewish jewelry handmade israeli jewelry photo‘Tis the season to be jolly, if you are a Christian. But a number of holidays for people of all faiths intersect around this time. It’s more noticeable if you live in the Middle East. Over here in Jaffa a couple of weeks ago, Muslims everywhere were celebrating Eid al-Adha; and Jewish people start lighting candles and gorging on jelly-filled doughnuts for Hanukah starting next week.

But whatever the season, or holiday, unique gift-giving is always something on our minds. When it comes to choosing gifts that are “green” the options are limited even more. One nice way to “say I love you” to someone in a way that is soft on the environment, is to give something handmade. Trendy, with no official religious affiliation is the good old hamsa, one of our faves, which means “five” in Arabic.

According to Wikipedia, an alternative Islamic name for this charm is the Hand of Fatima or Eye of Fatima, in reference to Fatima Zahra, the daughter of Muhammad. An alternative Jewish name is the Hand of Miriam, in reference to Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron. It is a kind of “protecting hand” or “hand of God.”

Some associate the significance of the five fingers to the five books of the Torah for Jews, the Five Pillars of Islam for Sunnis, or the five People of the Cloak for Shi’ites.

In recent years some activists for Middle East peace have chosen to wear the hamsa as a symbol of the similarities of origins and tradition between the Islamic and Jewish faiths. The fingers can point up or down.

Among Jews in Israel, it’s considered a Jewish gift, but one appropriate for Muslims, Christians, pagans and the unaffiliated. When I went to see my Catholic cousins in Scotland last year, it was hamsas for everyone.

While the gifts might not be certified green, there are some wonderful gift items in stock on MostOriginal.com, an online jewelry and gifts store that sells handmade artwork by Israeli artists.

Selling Israeli jewelry and Jewish gifts, their hamsas (like Laly Cohen’s Hamsa Hands pictured above), or Kabbalah bracelets, would satisfy even the choosiest friend.

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