SPOTLIGHT ON: Galit Reismann of TLVstyle

If you want an extra special addition to your bachelorette party festivities, or are simply looking to treat your bridal party to something unexpected while visiting Israel, TLVstyle tours make it all happen. Proprietress Galit Reismann started the sartorial tours as a way to connect her two loves: fashion and Tel Aviv. We picked her brain on the who, what and wear.

How did you get started in hosting fashion tours? What is your background?

I bring a rich professional experience in media management, fashion and export to TLVstyle. After nine years in the media, I  followed my calling, and at the age of 30, I immersed myself in the fashion world. For five years I worked as an Israeli fashion accessories distributor, helping designers establish new markets, primarily in the U.S, while I worked with procurement managers and buyers. At the age of 35 I decided to go solo and combine my passion for fashion with my deep connection to Tel Aviv. My initial concept was to expose visitors to the inside of Israel’s emerging fashion and creative design scene. With a keen interest to meet people of different walks of life and cultures, I decided to create a service that could serve as a hub; connecting, engaging, and promoting Israeli fashion. That was the birth of TLVstyle in 2012.

What are the most interesting and intimate parts of visiting a designer’s studio? 

TLVstyle bespoke tours bring newcomers and veterans to Tel Aviv to meet a wide range of contemporary designers who can be  discovered in their workshops and design studios located at the ends of tiny alleys, hidden behind closed doors or are not necessarily exposed as part of the overall hustle and bustle of Tel Aviv. When you enter their studios, the magic unfolds; private meetings with the designers themselves, introductions to their inspiring collections and stories, and the ability to visit different spaces from homes, to hidden studios to big showrooms and understand how people work in Tel Aviv nowadays. The visit allows my guests to see how the Israeli fashion scene is a collection of independent ideas, free of laws, order and history, cut off from rigid cultural rules. It’s truly a community of young designers who, with tremendous passion for their profession, work in an environment that is impossibly competitive with a lack of resources. Yet, this same lack of resources is what pushes the designers’ creativity and innovative designs. As in the world of hi-tech, innovation is driven by various demands, but also by the exuberant ideas of a creative community; the tours provide a way to learn about and experience this scene first-hand.

A lot of your tours are talked about as a unique, niche thing to do in Israel and a lot happens through word of mouth. What can people expect from the actual experience?

The fashion tours allow any curious traveler or fashionista to enjoy an authentic experience of the Israeli fashion world. The tours are all about personal experiences and will allow them to create a direct and informal encounter with world-renown as well as emerging, under-the-radar Israeli designers. The tours celebrate the Israeli fashion scene in an authentic way, through the people, stories, spirit and products. But, of course, it also allows for a unique shopping experience where one can buy first hand from the new collections, limited editions and even get tailored garments from the Israeli designers.

How are the tours tailored to clients?

TLVstyle requests that participants fill out a questionnaire prior to the tour that allows me to learn about the client’s profile and preferences, such as style, type, fashion interest, any previous introduction with local creative designers, as well as whom they are following in the world. I then customize the clients’ own experience accordingly.

How do age, interest and an understanding of fashion come into play in your tours and in the Israeli fashion world in general?

The tours are for any person; from new beginners in the fashion world to fashion mavens. All of my tours are tailored to the client’s profile and take age, country, and cultural background into consideration. If it’s a styling-shopping tour, body shape, lifestyle and interest are also taken into consideration. I can be sure to then curate the most relevant meetings with designers  and an intimate and special relationship can be established.

Who are some of the top Israeli fashion and accessories designers working today? And in the bridal market?

The bridal market is one of the most successful categories in the Israeli fashion scene nowadays. There are some names that have already become internationally known such as Alon Livne, Inbal Dror and Yniv Persi, and in the clothing designers category established names such as Gideon and Karen Oberon, Yaron Minkowski, and Shai Shalom. The stories who I mostly love to expose are those of Maskit and Elisha Abargel to textile designers from the world of accessories such as Noritamy, Agas and Tamar, Yaarit and Kristin and so many more.

What are any upcoming projects you may be working on?

As part of the 70 anniversary of Israel, one of the Jewish Federations in the United States is hosting me in May as their main speaker at an upcoming recognition event to talk about Israeli fashion in a TED format. This is a great honor for me and a huge opportunity to expand my services outside Israel. This special event will be added to the many missions and international visitors that I am currently working on programs for the upcoming holiday season of Passover and the Independence Day vacation.

To find out more about TLVstyle tours and to book a unique, customized tour for your bridal or bachelorette party, click here.