Monday, February 20, 2017

Israeli born Ovadia Brothers wow New York's fashion week

Israeli twins and fashion designers Shimon and Ariel Ovadia have been wowing audiences during New York Fashion Week.

The brothers, described a few years back by GQ as Best New Designers in America have a fashion line described as “chill and fresh”and having the “exact charm, edge and creativity of New York".  WWD marvels “ how two kids without a college education or any design experience launched themselves from the observant Jewish enclave of Flatbush, Brooklyn, to a Vogue-sponsored fashion show at the Chateau Marmont. And did it without working on the Sabbath.”

From the New York Times, writing about 2017 New York fashion week

The New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz, left, and the rapper Fabolous sat front row.
He went on to praise the fellow New Yorkers, less like a football star than a fashion editor: “I love their aesthetic — from the energy that they put into their clothing, to the silhouettes, to the cuts of their T-shirts. It’s just really beautiful.”

On the same front-row bench sat the rapper Fabolous, who appeared not to mind the fashion-mad fan crawling at his feet, trying to get a clear smartphone shot of his Puma x Trapstar sneakers.


“One thing that Ovadia has is the dope streetwear, but there’s a little touch to it that screams New York City, screams high-end,” Fabolous said. “But it’s still comfortable and casual at the same time.”


Yet the Electronic Intifada’s Ali Abunimah can’t see beyond his seething hatred of the Ovadia Brothers  Jewish/Israeli background, describing their New York Fashion Week lineup as “ racist chic”

Its hard to imagine anyone looking at this gritty, diverse cross-section of New Yorkers and thinking "Hmmmm. Thats racist", but Ali Abunimah manages.

Photo by John Taggart for The New York Times

Could it be this proud homage to the twins Israeli heritage that set him off? Could this mainstreaming of Hebrew, the the language of the Jewish people, have triggered Ali Abunimah's latest outburst?




Perhaps Ali Abunimah would find the designs of Paloma Spain, also exhibited at Fashion Week more to his liking? 




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