Maskit

Maskit dress, 1956

The Hebrew word "maskit," meaning an ornament, or something small and beautiful, appears in the Bible 14 times.[1]

Maskit founder Ruth Dayan and Miss Israel 1956, Sara Tal, with Maskit tunic

In the early years of the state, when the government was seeking work opportunities for new immigrants to Israel, Ruth Dayan realized that many of them were skilled in decorative arts such as embroidery, rugs, and arts and crafts. The concept of Maskit, which Dayan founded in 1954, was to take modern European patterns and combine them with ethnic embroidery.[2]

In 1955, Dayan met fashion designer Finy Leitersdorf, who designed clothes and accessories for Maskit over a period of 15 years. The two collaborated on a joint exhibit of Maskit designs at the Dizengoff Museum (today the Tel Aviv Museum).[3]

In an interview in 1966, Leitersdorf spoke about the "Israeliness" of Maskit clothing. It was not just the Yemenite embroidery, she said, but the "range of colors - the desert brown, the impure black inspired by Bedouin tents, and the eternally changing blue of the Mediterranean." She also cited the loose design, which made life more comfortable in the country's hot climate.[4]

Maskit enjoyed worldwide success in the 1960s, with clients that included Audrey Hepburn. From the 1960s to the 1980s, Maskit employed 2,000 people, with ten stores in Israel and one in New York. Maskit garments were sold by Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue.[5]

The company closed in 1994 but it was reopened in 2013 by Nir and Sharon Tal, who had worked for Deloitte and Alexander McQueen. One of the investors was Israeli businessman Stef Wertheimer, founder of the industrial tool manufacturer Iscar.[6]

Today, the Maskit magic lives on. A two-year journey of research has led the team through the captivating Israeli landscapes to reconnect with Maskit's original artists and roots. On 2021, Ruth passed away at the age of 103. Ruth worked with designer Sharon Tal and her life partner Nir Tal, in cooperation with industrialist Stef Wertheimer and his life partner Lynn Holstein, to revitalize the brand and continue its legacy. An honors graduate of the Shenkar School of Design, Sharon worked in Paris with Alber Elbaz at Lanvin, and then became the head of embroidery at Alexander McQueen in London. Sharon is driving the future of Maskit, infusing its rich heritage with modern fashion and remaining focused on delivering top-quality and exclusive designs.

Maskit has two stores in Israel and has a significant international presence, holding many international events around the United States, Canada and Europe. The fashion house has opened for Tel Aviv Fashion Week and also showed at Moscow Fashion Week, as well as holding shows and presentations around the world.

In 2018, Sharon was chosen as a critic at FIT's Future of Fashion Awards alongside top designers like Zac Posen, Yigal Azrouël Ect. Each year ,FIT choose industry critics to lend their expertise to their graduating students during their final semester as they prepare for the fashion show. The designers work with the students as mentors and critics, visiting classrooms throughout the semester to critique student work and to select the most exceptional garments for special citation.

• Israeli fashion
• Economy of Israel
• Culture of Israel
• American–German Colony, where Ruth Dayan opened a Maskit branch and the "Keren" restaurant, a pioneer of Israeli fine dining