Each year, the Jewish Federation of Jacksonville brings the women of the Jacksonville Jewish community together for its Women’s Division Champagne Brunch event. Federation will welcome Sharon Tal, a successful Israeli entrepreneur and head designer of the fashion house, Maskit, on Sun., Jan. 6, 2019, from 10 a.m.-noon at Epping Forest Yacht Club.
An honors graduate from Shenkar College, Israel’s leading design school, Sharon started her career at Lavin in Paris, interning under former chief designer, Alber Elbaz. She then went on to work at Alexander McQueen in London as the head designer responsible for embroideries. Working under Lee McQueen, Sharon created the embroideries for the celebrated spring/summer 2010 Plato’s Atlantis collection, among others.
Since returning to Israel, Sharon has successfully revived Maskit, Israel’s first fashion house, founded in 1954 by Ruth Dayan. Maskit was born out of an ideology to help immigrants arriving in Israel find work using their unique craftsmanship. Sharon, with Ruth’s blessing, has infused Maskit’s rich heritage with modern fashion and exclusive designs.
Couvert: $36 per person, includes breakfast and program. A minimum pledge of $70 to the 2019 Annual Campaign is required to attend, payable through December 31, 2019.
Registration for Champagne Brunch is open until December 28. To RSVP, call 904-448-5000 ext. 1201 or go to goo.gl/hUrdZA.
Q&A with Sharon Tal
Before Tal makes her way to the Sunshine State, we caught up with her to ask a few questions.
Q: What was your career like before Maskit?
A: I studied in Shenkar Collage in Israel (ranked number 6 in the world for fashion design) and did my internship for two seasons with Alber Elbaz for Lanvin. Then I moved to London and started working for Alexander McQueen as the head designer for embroidery.
Q: What made you want to go into the fashion industry?
A: I always liked the creation process and wanted to be part of it. I was thinking which design segment I should choose; whether product design or fashion design and today I am enjoying both worlds.
Q: You were a head designer for McQueen. What made you decide to return to Israel?
A: I got pregnant while working with McQueen and return to Israel to give birth. After spending time with family and friends, I felt at home and decided to stay in Tel Aviv.
Q: What has your journey been like with Maskit?
A: Maskit is definitely a journey. It started almost seven years ago when I met Ruth Dayan, the founder of Maskit and spent a lot of time with her doing research and understanding the origins of Israeli fashion. After two years of research, we decided to revive the brand and give it a new life with Ruth’s support and wisdom. Five years ago, we have launched Maskit and the journey continues.
Q: What keeps you inspired in your work?
A: Traveling Israel from the desert to the Golan Heights and meeting local artists.
Q: What inspired your new collection?
A: The last collection was inspired by the Sodom and Gomorrah story which is a world of inspiration.
Q: What is your favorite part of what you do?
A: I like the process of development when the sketches become a clothing piece and we are trying it on a human body. I like when customers find a piece that matches their personality and they are very happy.
Q: What has been the best moment in your career?
A: Wow, a tough question... I think the first show when we launched Maskit with 1,500 people in the audience and Ruth Dayan on the stage celebrating her 97th birthday was an amazing climax.
Q: What are your goals for the future? What do you hope to accomplish with Maskit?
A:We would love to bring Maskit back to its good times when it was an international fashion house inspired by Israel. I want people to wear it and enjoy it all over the United States.