Historical threads in the Old City

Clothes make the woman, and the women also inspire the designers.

A new exhibit being prepared at Jerusalem’s Tower of David Museum sets out to demonstrate the links between creativity, design and fashion as inspired by the historical women of Jerusalem. Called “Threads,” the show will include 10 dresses created by Israeli designers, who were asked to seek inspiration from Jerusalem women of yore. On the industrial design side, 35 items — think cake molds of the Old City, or orange slicers as Dome of the Rock — will be on display in an exhibit alongside the dresses.

Co-produced by fashion photographer Tamar Karavan and museum director Eilat Lieber, the concept of the exhibit is to take a better look at the “threads of connection in the city of Jerusalem,” said Lieber.

“I didn’t know about these women and what they had accomplished,” said Karavan. “There just wasn’t enough information out there.”

One of the featured figures is Hemda Ben-Yehuda, the wife of Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, who is considered the driving force behind the modern-day revival of the Hebrew language. It was Hemda, however, who is credited with creating the word ofna, Hebrew for fashion.

Actress Einat Ehrlich after her photo shoot at the Tower of David Museum (photo credit: Jessica Steinberg/Times of Israel)

As part of the effort to demonstrate the connections between the women of Jerusalem and the city that inspires them, the museum asked local figures, including writers, actors and choreographers, to model the pieces designed for the exhibit, organizing a photo shoot that will become part of the exhibit.

“I’m always inclined to take part in any kind of women’s project,” said actress Einat Erlich, who posed as Hemda Ben-Yehuda while modeling designer Rachel Cohen’s romantic white dress. “Lots of women didn’t get the attention they should have, and this is a way of correcting that.”

“Threads” opens at the Tower of David Museum on Thursday, May 23.