Victor (Vivi) Bellaish, Israel’s most prominent fashion designer, is revealing his new collection as a part of Kornit Fashion Week LA 2021. The collection creates a correlation between fashion and nature, birds in flight, and the lightness of feathers and silk.
The inspiration of the collection was tropical birds, mainly the Hoopoe – Israel’s national bird. Bellaish is fascinated by the bird’s feathers as a design element: the shape and structure composing a spectacular visual performance, which, accompanied by the silhouette, provides a feeling of uplifting flight. The world of birds has been inspirational for Bellaish since childhood: “as a young boy I was fascinated by birds, and especially by the Hoopoe, which stands out in the local scenery. The crest and the black and white feathers give the bird a sort of punk-rock look”. The collection stems from his journey researching textile history. Spirits of feminine strength and liberation beat at the heart of the collection.
The collection is a product of a unique collaboration of the designer with Kornit Digital, which specializes in developing and creating systems for textile digital print. Bellaish designed the collection to maximize the full potential of Kornit’s technology, which considers sustainability to be a core company value. Kornit’s digital ecological printing solutions provide a manufacturing workflow unlike any other in the industry. Those printing solutions advance fashion manufacturing with a low carbon footprint, minimal water use, and on-demand printing, which prevents excess inventory and meets the needs and demands of today’s consumer-driven marketplace. Bellaish tells of the work process: “traditional silk prints were a part of Roberto Cavalli, of which I was head designer for four years. The prints were done manually when the garment followed the printed fabric. Working with Kornit enabled me to return to tradition through the advanced technology of the printers. It allowed me to plan the printed fabric to match the design I wanted to create, to dream of textures, cuts, structure, and colors without limits.”
With eco-consciousness in mind, the creation of the collection didn’t include real feathers. Instead, painter Melanie Vugich painted the feathers, and her work was printed on fabric. This method was also used to create the ikat print – a traditionally woven pattern turned into a free-hand sketch and into a digital print. The birds and aesthetics of Bellaish’s ikat work is his interpretation of renowned designer William Morris, one of the founders of the Arts and Crafts movement.
The styles in the collection are airy and light, which resonates with the thought of feathers. The lightweight layered skirts were created through the airy ikat print, helping focus one’s attention on the background of the textile on the one hand, and on the print itself on the other hand. The slightly abstract and undefined shape follows Bellaish’s point of view: in flight, a bit unraveled, embracing the beauty in the incomplete. Bellaish’s design-DNA is characterized by his love of 1970’s boho-chic, the 1930’s glam and vintage sportswear. Punk inspirations are added to the mix, creating a design twist and a new contemporary fashionable approach: the designer combines touches of neon prints and metallic chiffon fabrics woven with lurex threads. The skirts are paired with jerseys or t-shirts, alongside Dr. Martens boots, referencing the 1990’s English style.
Gadi Elimelech & Shalev Lav’an completed the look by masterful styling, using asymmetrical lip, ear, and nail jewelry, designed by Keren Wolf.
ABOUT: Kornit Digital is a worldwide market leader in sustainable, on-demand, digital fashion and textile production technologies. The company is writing the operating system for fashion with end-to-end solutions including digital printing systems, inks, consumables, and an entire global ecosystem that manages workflows and fulfillment. Headquartered in Israel with offices in the USA, Europe, and Asia Pacific, Kornit Digital serves customers in more than 100 countries and states worldwide. To learn more about how Kornit Digital is boldly transforming the world of fashion and textiles. kornit.com
