"Reluctantly we had to stop for a moment, but stop completely? Never"/Chen Hod
He is an entrepreneur, a businessman, a member of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa City Council, holding the portfolio of resilience and social equality, the president of the "Rouch Neshit" association (which works to promote the economic independence of women victims of violence), also a TV host, and recently the title of actor was added to
Motti Reif
's rich resume (59).
For the first time in his life Rafe plays in the second season of the series "The Cook", in which he plays Dana Frieder's father ("How did I enjoy it?! I didn't expect it. It was really charming").
But as far as we are concerned, whenever his name is thrown into space, he has always been the producer of Israeli fashion events, chief among them the fashion weeks in Tel Aviv.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by #fashionweektelaviv (@fashionweektelaviv).
how are you these days
"Hello everyone. A very complex, very sad period. If I look at today's date, I should now be in the midst of the peak of activity for the fashion week that was supposed to take place in a week. In the current very challenging period and like everyone else it seems to me, we are mainly concerned with help and support , I have the position in the municipality and a lot of philanthropy around. Look, we don't work, but mainly survive the period and try to do as much as possible. You wake up in the morning with dozens of requests and requests, so many people are in mental and financial distress, it's not easy. But as my mother says , we went through the Holocaust, so we will probably also go through this terrible period."
More in Walla!
Pietro is celebrating a round birthday and you enjoy a once-in-60-years sale
In collaboration with Pitro
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by #fashionweektelaviv (@fashionweektelaviv).
He experienced the disasters of the damned war up close.
"Two very close friends of mine lost their children. Simona Shrem lost her only son Liam, and Eyal Waldman lost his daughter Daniel and her partner Noam. So the whole beginning was very difficult and we focused only on that. But also throughout the year we are busy with philanthropic work, it is part of from our lives".
Only now - when we are 5.5 months into the war, during which he had time to star on the small screen with "Hatabah", plus complete his support campaign for Ron Huldai (who was elected mayor of Tel Aviv) - Rafe is ready to start talking about fashion again.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Motty Mordechaie David Reif (@mottyreif).
From 2010 to 2023, you initiated and produced the Tel Aviv Fashion Weeks, which always take place around the end of March, and we are Ototo there.
So I understand that Fashion Week will no longer take place this year
"Unfortunately, no, it won't happen on this date. But let's see how things will turn out. I would be very happy to still hold something in 2024, maybe in a different format. I admit that as far as fashion is concerned it has been pushed aside , because our priorities have changed so much, we are surrounded by a lot of people who are in distress. Look, my role in life is usually to make people happy, but right now you need to hug more. And as I said, we have to see how things progress and then we will do what needs to be done."
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by #fashionweektelaviv (@fashionweektelaviv).
Last week I met you at David Wexler's exhibition at the container house in the port of Jaffa, which was packed to the brim.
It seems that people who live and work in fashion are quite thirsty for it
. "It's true that people want and wait for it. But organizing a fashion week is not like producing a fashion show. It has many, many consequences - bodies, parties, people. It's about thousands of people."
In 2022, and for the first time, Rafe took a step back when he passed the baton of directing the exhibitions to Nimrod Peled - which allowed him to free himself up for many more projects.
And even though it's no longer all on his shoulders when it comes to producing a fashion week, in the past two years (Kornit Tel Aviv Fashion Weeks 2022 and 2023) the many challenges still occupied him with high intensity. In Israel there is some body that actually supports.
But every time we start from scratch, especially with regard to raising resources and companies that will support."
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by #fashionweektelaviv (@fashionweektelaviv).
In recent weeks, there is not a single mingling conversation in the industry that I am involved with, whether it is on Instagram or offline (at events and launches), during which the question does not come up - "Does anyone know if there will be a fashion week this year?".
It also seems that the designers didn't really know what was going on.
Have you not considered putting out an orderly press release for example?
"We are so busy with everyday survival and everything that is happening around that it really didn't come up. But when we are talking now I really think I should issue a postponement announcement. Again, I believe we will do something in 2024 and as long as the situation really works out and allows."
"Successes don't happen in a day, and I like revolutions"/Rafi Deloya
So your future still holds a strong involvement in the worlds of fashion?
Or will it focus more and more on social, public and philanthropic action?
"It's always been together with me. I grew up in the fashion industry, I've been active in it for 38 years. I still think we have a very successful industry, with super talented designers who bring a variety of styles, from the veterans to the young people who joined us last year. I really want to hope that after This terrible war will be some sort of boom and we will be back to business. Reluctantly we had to stop for a moment, but stop completely? Never. And to put it on the table, as long as the abductees and the abductees are there we can't go back to our normal reality, it's just not possible. So Yes, you already go here and there to a show or a performance, but we can't continue life. I think this is what sets us apart as a people."
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by MICHAEL (@omermichaelofficial).
To the question of whether he believes that having a fashion week in Israel every year, as happens in the biggest fashion weeks in the world, is essential for us (as a country, as an industry, and how we are perceived or operate in the world) Raif replies with the question: "I want to understand what is happening in the world?"
Then he continues and clarifies, "First of all, we are the big ones. I never looked at what was happening in other districts and wanted to do the same, on the contrary. I think that when you look at what is happening in Tel Aviv today, you see its differentiation from fashion weeks in the world. For me, fashion week was created because of two Goals - The first is the subject of public relations for the world, and we succeeded in this big time. Today when you search on Google 'Tel Aviv fashion week' you get thousands of coverages. And the second goal, or the story for which I gathered, is to open and expand the subject of the ideal of beauty."
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by #fashionweektelaviv (@fashionweektelaviv).
So in case you were wondering, Raif intends to continue with all his might to bring about the change of the ideal of beauty that he established in recent years, while providing an extensive stage for diversity on the Tel Aviv runway.
"While the last fashion weeks in the world indicate going back, for us it's exactly the opposite," he describes, "at the last Tel Aviv Fashion Week, when a full-figured, old or short model walked the runway, she no longer received applause. I mean, it has already become natural. We also incorporated women and models with disabilities. We're not quite there yet, but there's been some kind of very successful process, which has developed thanks to Fashion Week, in that the definition of beauty has changed. There's not a single designer who participated who only featured models of one type of model, that didn't happen. If ever that was subject to choice, so today it's built in, and if a designer doesn't cooperate, he's simply not found. I work hard enough to promote this agenda so that I have the right to set the rules."
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Motty Mordechaie David Reif (@mottyreif).
And Raif is not only talking about a combination of plus-size models: "The contribution of Samdar Ganzi, for example, with her agency, Proaging Models Agency, is amazing. Today she has dozens of women of various older ages, these are professional models who work (recently Ganzi also started representing men) Tel Aviv Fashion Week brings together women of all ages, sizes and heights, which is an unequivocal success. If five years ago only 4-5 diverse models came to the auditions, then last year many hundreds came when we held auditions."
"The definition of beauty has changed"/haydon perrior
If you ask Raif, and we asked, there hasn't been a single beauty ideal for a long time.
"Throughout history the ideal of beauty has always changed depending on the time and culture, but today there is no such thing" he maintains.
"I always give the example of Victoria's Secret - which a decade ago presented an ad under the title "The Perfect Body" in Times Square in New York, and what happened? The company crashed with an immediate 60% drop in shares. But today you see the change that the brand has undergone and this is because Women can influence through their pockets. For many years I was mocked, laughed at, and told "enough is enough" or "if a designer wants a model in size 32 and 1.80 tall, then why not?", so that's it, no.
We do it for the next generation, so that it will be born Into a world where the definition of beauty does not depend on size, age or height, nor because of gender, color or any religion. Yes, women have all the power in the world to produce this change. A designer or fashion company that uses a model that does not match the age and learning of the client That's what they're aiming for, I urge the women just not to buy there, that's all. And it's working, so stop it, enough is enough. We have a generation of girls who can't grow up into this twisted world, where there is an ideal of beauty that produces some kind of continuous frustration. The narrative needs to change And to be 'this is me, this is what there is, and this is what I love'. This is what is called satisfaction, being satisfied with what you have. Why even want something you can't get? The endless pursuit of two kilos here or there is no longer relevant, today the world allows us so much meaning and you can create meaning in your life.
Successes don't happen in a day, and I like revolutions.
So it admittedly took time, 13 years to be exact, but to see - the last fashion week presented one hundred percent of diverse beauty.
And as I always say, I'm doing it for my granddaughter who will be born one day."
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Walla!
Fashion (@wallafashion).
Finally, what would you wish for us?
What needs to happen here, in the fashion industry in general, to make it better?
"So first of all and most importantly, I hope that all the abductees will return. Then, that we will actually return to our routine. It is important to remember that at the end of the day the world is one global village, and we have many talented designers who can also go out into the world. So let's continue our work and creation." .
More on the same topic:
Motty Rafe
Tel Aviv Fashion Week