Spring Break
History, fashion, Jews
by Aaron Mitchell Finegold
Staff Writer
Theater | 4/24/07
Posted online at 12:55 AM EST on 4/24/07
There are words that probably come to every Brandeisian's mind when he or she thinks or hears about Jews. What common words do you think of? Torah? Talmud? Rabbi? Kosher? Fish? There are also several occupations or fields that popular opinion believes are dominated by Jews. The media. The banks. Hollywood. Fair enough. Whether or not these stereotypes are true is, although an important question, not the topic of this week's column. This week we are investigating the history of Jews in fashion.
Some designers have ambiguously Jewish last names, like Calvin Klein or Marc Jacobs. Others have names that could have only come from French nobility (Ralph Lauren or Estée Lauder) or German aristocracy (Diane von Furstenberg). Well, the explanation for this is simple; Ralph Lauren was Ralph Lifschitz; Estee Lauder, Esther Mentzer; and Diane von Furstenberg, Diane Halfin.
If I told you that Kenneth Cole and Marc Ecko and Donna Karan and Michael Kors were all Jewish, would you freak out? Possibly, but you shouldn't, because the Jewish tradition in fashion is nothing new. In fact, it started in the 19th century with a man by the name of Levi Strauss.
Strauss' story is one you might have heard before, because he's relatively famous. The father of blue jeans, he moved to California during the Gold Rush and set up shop with his brother-in-law. A century-and-a-half later, Levi's is a very widespread and popular brand of jeans, and will continue to be far into the future. They are also one of the most versatile brands, with price and quality ranging from the practical and everyday to the luxurious and ecologically friendly.
Today the fashion world is dominated by Jews, whose visions sometimes lead to somewhat non-Jewish creations. For example, Lauren, the pronunciation of whose last name is an ongoing debate, isn't from wealthy old-money family origins. But something deeply inspirational that he once said will probably stick with me forever: "People ask how can a Jewish kid from the Bronx do preppy clothes? Does it have to do with class and money? It has to do with dreams."
Some designers have ambiguously Jewish last names, like Calvin Klein or Marc Jacobs. Others have names that could have only come from French nobility (Ralph Lauren or Estée Lauder) or German aristocracy (Diane von Furstenberg). Well, the explanation for this is simple; Ralph Lauren was Ralph Lifschitz; Estee Lauder, Esther Mentzer; and Diane von Furstenberg, Diane Halfin.
If I told you that Kenneth Cole and Marc Ecko and Donna Karan and Michael Kors were all Jewish, would you freak out? Possibly, but you shouldn't, because the Jewish tradition in fashion is nothing new. In fact, it started in the 19th century with a man by the name of Levi Strauss.
Strauss' story is one you might have heard before, because he's relatively famous. The father of blue jeans, he moved to California during the Gold Rush and set up shop with his brother-in-law. A century-and-a-half later, Levi's is a very widespread and popular brand of jeans, and will continue to be far into the future. They are also one of the most versatile brands, with price and quality ranging from the practical and everyday to the luxurious and ecologically friendly.
Today the fashion world is dominated by Jews, whose visions sometimes lead to somewhat non-Jewish creations. For example, Lauren, the pronunciation of whose last name is an ongoing debate, isn't from wealthy old-money family origins. But something deeply inspirational that he once said will probably stick with me forever: "People ask how can a Jewish kid from the Bronx do preppy clothes? Does it have to do with class and money? It has to do with dreams."
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