Together with her partner Ella Kalisky Cohen, the fashion designer
Shiran Margot Navon
(40) is behind the "Margot" fashion house, which is responsible for the wedding and evening dresses of quite a few local stars.
From Neta Alkhmeister, Yael Shelvia, Rif Naman to Titi Einau, who on her wedding day at the beginning of the month chose no less than three dream dresses in their design.
Many do not know that the local brand was founded by the inspiration of the late Margot Kaufman, Navon's great-great-grandmother (for whom she is simply "Grandma Margot"), who survived the Holocaust thanks to her sewing skills, and no less thanks to her psychic and mental strength. "After my grandmother Eva got married she And her mother, Margot, moved to Tiberias and their whole world was us, the children in the family," says Navon, "we used to spend time with both of them, who would meet regularly three times a week to sew and work together.
Until I was 18, I was with them in everything."
The fashion house "Margot" named after the great-grandmother Margot Kaufman (photo: Shay Franco)
The chilling, yet inspiring family story begins in World War II Germany, where thirty-year-old Margot Kaufman lived with her husband and daughter Eva (later, Navon's grandmother).
Before being sent to Auschwitz, Margot was forced to leave her infant daughter in the convent under the protection of a woman she did not know, a Hassidic of Nations.
She survived the hell that she witnessed and even experienced for 5 years in the extermination camp thanks to her sewing skills, which were no longer dedicated to designing couture clothes as she used to, but to sewing uniforms for the Nazi army.
After walking the death march, in which she lost her partner, she managed to survive and returned to the same monastery where she left her daughter, and found an 8-year-old girl. The two went to Belgium where she opened a dress sewing business, and after about four years the mother and daughter immigrated to Israel, to Haifa.
The talented survivor of course continued to sew for women, and even managed to transfer all the knowledge and heritage to her great-granddaughter, Shiran Navon.
After Margot's death, Navon founded a fashion house named after her great-grandmother, who was an inexhaustible source of inspiration for her and actually shaped the course of her professional life.
"I drew from her the basic knowledge and the dream to design and fulfill," she proudly declares.
The late Margot Kaufman and her great-granddaughter Sheeran Margot (photo: private photo)
How do these days before Holocaust Day occupy you this year?
"The truth is, these are hard days for me. I often visit Grandma Margot at the cemetery, lay flowers and hear the few stories she told. Grandma didn't like to share with us, she wanted us to grow up as happy children. The hardship and hunger she went through makes me shudder, especially the memory of her bedside always being A paper-wrapped sandwich is placed, in case...".
Has the story of her life as a Holocaust survivor always been present in your life?
"Grandma Margot passed away at the age of 90 when I was 17.5 years old. I remember myself as a child sitting next to her for hours next to the sewing machine, watching and learning how her hands work. She sewed in her home in Haifa to order, and for us girls in the family too, as a child I would sit and draw sketches and dream of how to dress Girls in clothes that would flatter them. But what always stood out to me was the number that was tattooed above her hand. As a child I would go back and ask 'what is that number?', and she used to say in an optimistic and embracing voice that it was "nonsense", "It's just my phone number that I won't forget" But I knew, I knew from the stories exactly what happened to her."
On the right - great-grandmother Margot and her only daughter Eva after the war in Belgium (photo: Shay Franco)
"Grandma Margot's story is not formally immortalized anywhere," Navon continues, "because she didn't tell much. But she and her husband, who was murdered in the Auschwitz camp, are registered in Yad Vashem. And we made sure to immortalize her in our life's work, the fashion house Margot, just as she wanted. I I'm sure she knows, sees and hears. When I visit her at the cemetery I tell her and I'm sure she accompanies me."
Is there any documentation or collection of the couture clothes she designed in Germany in the 1930s?
"The truth is, there remains a tailored silver silk shirt that she sewed by hand. It is kept in a closet in a box wrapped in plastic, and is hardly touched."
Clean, classic and sophisticated lines that characterize the classic Europe of the 1950s (photo: Shay Franco)
Navon completed her undergraduate studies at "Vitzo" College in Haifa with top honors, and in addition she studied elite fashion in Italy using the method of free pattern development.
As soon as she finished her studies, she started her career as a fashion designer in the field of bridal and evening wear.
In 2012, she first opened her studio doors in the north of the country, and in 2019, when she felt the time had come to expand, the "Margot" fashion house opened in Tel Aviv.
Navon currently lives in Moshav Kfar Hitit, is married with two daughters, and divides her time between family life in Moshav and her thriving business in the big city.
The "Margot" fashion house derives and applies the values of specialization and professionalism at the level of finishing and sampling, where the sources of inspiration correspond with the same inspirations from Grandma Margot's house - clean, classic and sophisticated lines that characterize the classic Europe of the 1950s.
While Navon Emunah is responsible for the design and cuts, her partner Ella Kalinsky Cohen, who also happens to be (or not) her sister-in-law, is responsible for the textile side.
The collaboration between the designers is fertile ground for realizing the artistic and design fantasies of the two, and it proves itself.
They have positioned themselves as leaders in their field, and produce luxurious dresses that have become a symbol of desirability and style among Israeli women.
On the right - Ella Kalisky Cohen, on the left - Shiran Margot Navon (Photo: Shay Franco)
Was it important to you that the business be family?
"Ella is married to my brother. When we first met, she told me that she, too, had been drawing the same sketches since childhood, and I realized that we shared a common dream. I believe that it was important for my grandmother to maintain the family format and she made sure to bring us together, in a sort of destiny."
And how does the artistic and design synergy work between you?
"Ella studied textiles at Shankar, and textiles are a complement to fashion. She is responsible for the touches and textures in the fabrics, importing selected and high-quality fabrics, and I am in charge of the cuts. Together we are extremely precise."
How are the values and sources of inspiration you drew from your grandmother's house reflected in Margot's wedding dress collections?
"First and foremost in the level of technique, knowledge and European haute couture professionalism that was present around me all the time. Even the inlay was often done by hand, because it was ingrained in me that the finished product must be nothing less than perfect, inside and out. And it shows with us."
More in Walla!
A year without her: the Jewish woman who survived the Holocaust and became a famous bag designer
To the full article
Three dresses were designed for Titi Ainau for her wedding (Photo: Esposa Photographers)
Do you approach the design of the evening dresses in a different way?
Because there you can definitely recognize a nod to leading trends, and a sexier and bolder line.
"The truth is that in terms of quality we do not approach differently, sometimes you will see the same execution of a technique used for a wedding dress on top of a pink bodice. Even in the evening dresses we are careful about crazy quality, but we allow ourselves to be more cheeky, to combine bolder elements and above all to stretch the rope a little More. To lead and not be led."
How would you characterize Margot's bride?
"Margot's bride is very clean, classic and fashionable, but - she has a different audacity. She stretches the tightrope around the classics and wants to lead and innovate. Whether it's in the cut, combinations, or special elements in the dress, all in precise style and aesthetics."
Where do you see your business in 5 years from now?
"Margot will not only be a successful fashion house in Israel.
"In the evening dresses we allow ourselves to be more cheeky" (Photo: Shay Franco)
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