Recession and its down and up turns on Israeli fashion scene

It’s no secret. Israeli women love to shop. A lot. The latest wave of recession had its impact on Israel as it had all over the modern world, but it definitely had its special features. The situation seemed very threatening at first, and many fashion brands were about to disappear, so it was time to get as creative as possible in no time.
When referring to chain stores, it’s usually January that marks the beginning of sale season in Israel. It starts with a subtle 20% off discounts and slides down pretty fast all the way down till March and April. This year I dare to assume that many customers didn’t even have the chance to see the new collections without a Sale sign on it, as sale season came early. When I say ‘early’, I mean November, which, in terms of Israeli climate, means even before the winter actually started.
Most of those chain brands now have outlet stores as well. They have existed in Israel for a couple of years now, and now the Israeli independent fashion designers had joined the trend. One by one, they open outlet stores downtown Tel-Aviv or even in Jaffa, calling them “redundancy stores” instead of discount stores, and have major sales at these stores once a month or two.  These stores are well designed and welcoming, they’re just located in cheaper areas than the mall or the main shopping streets, and the clothes are significantly cheaper.
For those who try avoiding shopping by not walking the right streets and tempting themselves by doing that, another new concept was created and is doing very well in Tel-Aviv and even outside of the city. Designers do it, customers do it, and it’s happening. They pick a weekend, get all the designers they want to participate to bring in their clothes, rent an apartment or simply use one of their own, and spread the word around that there’s a private home-style sale going on all weekend long. The discounts are usually pretty minor. It’s the happening, the gathering, the music, the drinks and mostly the clothes that make it all to become successful events in general, and beneficial sales for the designers. These kinds of sales are all over the city at the last weekend of the month.

(picture above: home private sale)

(picture above: “Shoplifters” – home fashion sales company partners  which holds sales every month on different locations in Tel-Aviv and outside of it)
One would think that a new designer would probably rethink his coming out to the market this year and might consider waiting for a while. The opposite is the truth in IL – new designers and 1-2 designers’ brands keep popping out. They don’t really have to have their own new collection. The hottest trend downtown Tel-Aviv is all about second-hand shops and, of course, vintage.
Vintage used to be a nice word for your grandma’s old clothes. Now it seems like the hottest trend among Tel-Aviv’s shoppers. It’s pretty easy to create a vintage brand in Tel-Aviv. All you need to do is buy very old clothes from the flea market or just collect them from your mom’s closet. It all might need a little bit of fixing and sawing, and all there’s left to do is to add the outfits something new that can make it updated – a belt, some lace at the rough old ends or anything else that can add to the romantic-nostalgic look. Sales of second hand clothes are all over town, especially on the weekends. You can easily run into many of them on Saturday morning at the very same bar you went drinking with your friends last night, or even at the designers’ homes or front yards.

(picture above: Naftalin, an Israeli vintage brand)
Could you imagine the recession turning into a reason to party? New partying concept was born at the beginning of this year – exchanging clothes parties. You pack up all those clothes you can’t even remember why you bought, never wore or wore very few times. It’s all in a great shape, practically new, you just know you’ll never wear it again, but feel too bad to throw it away. So you bring it all to the party, where every participant shows her clothes to the others, and each can take whatever she wants, in exchange for offering her clothes. No use of money is involved, and each participant also brings something to eat as well. These parties are actually very fun – just think about a room full of girls, food, drinks, and free clothes. Nothing can go wrong on these ones, right?

(picture above: clothes exchange party in Tel-Aviv)
Another new phenomenon of the recession is DIY. Do It Yourself has never had a more appealing side as it has nowadays. Who would’ve thought that a day would come and you’d see a group of women in their 30s knitting together at a café on Rothchild Boulevard? Once a week, you see them sit down together with their coffee, knitting and sawing patterns and materials, and make their own clothes while sharing tips and ideas with each other.

The opposite side of the recession in Israel is its denial. Kikar Hamedina (the square of the state in Hebrew) is the Israeli mini version of Rodeo Drive and Fifth Avenue, where all the most expensive and luxurious stores are located. One would think that customers won’t purchase a 1,000 dollars t-shirt at times like these, but the reality is different. Stores owners say that there’s hardly any change. The theory of the retailers says that those who had 100 million dollars before and now have 80 million dollars feel and act the same, and still shop like before. Stores who were mildly affected by the recession did have sales, unlike before, but never bothered to tell anyone about their secret sales. The image of the brands was much more important to them, and the fact that some brands never have sales or any kind of discount all year long was kept in most shops.

(picture above: Amor designers shop in Kikar Hamedina)
Nowadays, it seems like the fashion recession in Israel is almost over. The new fall collections are out in stores already, and prices are back to their normal scale. Summer sales are almost over. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see how early the fall sales start this year before calling this recession off for good.

xoxoxo,

Hilla Ohayon.