Maskit Jerusalem

Maskit was Israel's first fashion house, founded in 1954 by Ruth Dayan as a Ministry of Labor employment project intended to give new immigrants agricultural work, which instead revealed pools of skilled weavers and embroiderers. The label built its identity on traditional craftsmanship, and at its height was carried by Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue, with ten stores in Israel and one in New York, including a multi-floor flagship in Jerusalem. Government funding ended in 1970, and the company went bankrupt in 1994. Two decades later, designer Sharon Tal spent roughly two and a half years working with Dayan to track down former employees and archived pieces before relaunching the brand.