Israeli designer duo Sister M

                                          © Copyright Ilan Porat

                                          © Copyright Sophie Gost

                  © Copyright Sophie Gost

 
Sister M is a brand impervious to the kind of commercialism that kills the spirit of creativity. As an alternative to a big business, it’s instead an Israeli designer label, where two sisters jointly create colourful, wearable and ethnic-inspired pieces.

The designer duo debuted at the first ever Tel Aviv Fashion Week last year, showcasing a collection inspired by cultures from all over the world. The result was a runway show filled with long flowing dresses and skirts, accompanied with statement jewelleries. 

I caught up with them in their studio in Florentine, a trendy industrial neighbourhood in south Tel Aviv, to talk about what their inspirations are, the Tel Aviv fashion scene and how it is working together as sisters. 

“Our influence for design of course comes from Israel, but also from all kind of places and cultures. Funky, ethnic, we like it all”, says Meital Mitrani, 33, and the older of the two, while showing me around the tidily structured racks of vibrant-coloured dresses, loose-fitted blouses and accessories.  

The clothes in the studio are all wearable, casual, and comfortable. It's an eclectic mix of the Tel Aviv fashion scene: cosmopolitan and fun, yet casual and smart. 

Meital continues: “But mainly our inspiration comes from within ourselves. We grew up in a very artistic house. Our mother studied fashion, so she was always designing garments.”

She explains how it contributed to the her and her sister trying out their skills on plastic long-legged American miniature mannequins: “Our mother always had the sewing machine out, so since a very young age, Rahya and I designed clothes for our Barbie dolls”.

Sharing the same genetic heritage has also lead to an uncanny similarity in taste: “I can walk into a fabric store and pick out a pattern, and then Rahya can go into the same shop and pick out the exact same textile.”

Although working together and being alike in many ways, there are also differences. Rahya majored in fashion design at Shenkar Academy, while Meital has a degree in fashion wear and objects from Beazalel Acadamy. Together they merge their two points of views into a unanimous philosophy that fashion always should unforeseen and enjoyable.

To find out more, please visit Sister M's website.