It was a celebration of eye-popping neon, bold cutouts, and embellished rhinestones at the disco party that was the Yanky & Nataf fashion show at Kornit Fashion Week Tel Aviv earlier this week. Two Israeli designers, whose striking designs have been seen on the likes Israeli pop duo Static, Ben-El, and singer Noa Kirel already, claimed they were inspired both by the abstractions of the 80s, 90s, and the digital age. They showcased this through futuristic neon printing and spandex as well as nylon.
It was more than a celebration for color for Yanky Golian & Nataf Hirschberg. Yanky & Nataf’s emboldened collection was also a celebration of fashion innovation driven by a new style era where cutting-edge tech fuels personalization, creativity, inclusion, and sustainability in the on-demand fashion space.
Yanky & Nataf used Kornit Digital’s newest and most advanced printing technologies to create their statement-making collection, including Kornit’s brand new Apollo direct-to-garment (DTG) system to print blended color gradients; the Presto direct-to-fabric (DTF) printer to engineer neon prints, and Kornit’s XDi decorative application to print on spandex for bodysuits.
They weren’t the only ones. Sigal Dekel (the popular Israeli fashion designer from the 90s) teamed up again with Kornit Digital to bring back the runway after many years without a single collection. Kornit Digital provided its printing technology, which allowed her to create a design process that would allow her to select the type of print she wanted and then adjust it to fit a specific fabric. The final result would be unique and produced on-demand. She printed stripes, geometric shapes and florals on red, beige, and gray fabrics. Kornit explained that her printing was done using a water circulation process which was less harmful to the environment.
Other collections, including one from Emirati designer Dr. Mona al Mansouri, also made use of Kornit’s state-of-the-art tech. According to Kornit, al Monsouri, the first designer from the UAE to ever showcase in Israel, had limited time to create her show — just 48 hours to design, purchase, and print fabric, then fly it back to to Dubai for sewing. Dr. El-Manssuri could print on thin, transparent organza and create three unique looks for her opening collection with the help Kornit.
The designers were able to create stunning on-demand collections in a matter of weeks, even though they had less time than al Monsouri. It can take 18 months to launch a fashion line. Because of supply problems and garment production processes, however, Dekel’s designers were able create their style sets in only three weeks. This resulted in significantly less textile waste.
Kornit Digital, a US-Israeli manufacturing company, developed industrial and commercial printing solutions in the apparel, textile, and garment industries. The company, which was founded almost 20 years ago, has been able to serve more than 100 countries and has offices throughout Israel, Europe, Asia and the US. The company went public on May 15, 2015.
During a press event on the second day of fashion week, Samuel declared he has earmarked $1 billion in sales as Kornit’s revenue goal by 2026. NoCamels was also informed by Samuel why digital textile printing company Kornit decided to host fashion week Tel Aviv.
“We assessed how we can influence the industry. We initially focused on the production floor. But then we realized that we needed to move upstream to speak with brands. We knew we had to speak to the influencers and designers. We must become the operating systems. We asked ourselves what is the right marketing vehicle to deliver these messages and interact with the audience.”
The company realized that brands were not coming to the fashion and textile trade shows, where Kornit was showcasing its technologies, Samuel explains, so they tried to figure out how to “go up in the value chain,” which they soon realized was at fashion week.
“We knew we are going to be the next operating system, and we saw ourselves as changing the industry, so we decided, instead, that we were going to run our own event and not participate as sponsors.” Kornit Fashion Week in Tel Aviv has since expanded to locations around the world, including Tokyo, Los Angeles, and Milan, and Samuel says the next one will be in London in about a month.
“This was a real opportunity for us to really to deliver those messages about inclusion, about sustainability, about diversity, about on-demand, about creativity, and unleashing the creativity” which is the vision behind the next chapter of Kornit Digital,” he adds.
Kornit continues its impact all over the globe. Last month, Kornit teamed up to Fashion-Enter, an not-for-profit social venture, to open a London-based innovation center. The company raised $25 million earlier this year and opened a state of the art ink manufacturing plant in southern Israel.
New printing systems revealed
Kornit Digital was the first to introduce single-step digital textile printing. This was used in both direct-to garment (DTG), and later, direct-to fabric production. DTG platforms are a major game-changer for mainstream mass production in fashion and apparel, which is currently constrained by traditional polluting production methods.
During the press event, Kornit unveiled the new Kornit Apollo direct-to-garment (DTG) digital system, which uses Kornit’s MAX technology, to offer high retail quality with full automation control and integrated smart curing processes, utilizing tech from Germany’s Tesoma, a textile dryer company recently acquired by Kornit. While some designers are already using these printers, they won’t be available to most customers until 2023.
“As the design, technology, and fashion worlds converge design, there’s a tremendous opportunity now created. Kornit is writing the operating system for fashion – and today, we are introducing game-changing technology for mass production that will offer a powerful alternative to screen printing,” says Samuel.
Kornit also unveiled its Atlas MAX Poly DTG production system, a DTG printing solution, predicted to transform the professional and recreational sports apparel and teamwear markets, which suffer from limitations due to the mass customization of polyester, Kornit said. The technology targets the athletic apparel market’s reliance on synthetic, polymer-based fabrics, according to Kornit’s Chief Marketing Officer Omer Kulka.
The company’s systems also incorporate Kornit’s XDi decorative applications, creating new styles for multiple effects and unlimited combinations such as threadless embroidery, 3D simulation, and high-density vinyl.
“There is a major change that’s happening and that’s self-expression. Z generation is keen to express itself. They desire to be creative and original. They don’t want to wear the same things their friends are wearing. They’d like to be the visual. And for that they need variety, more customization, even personalization,” Samuel tells NoCamels.
As the fashion world continues to grapple with the new normal of digitization and trends accelerated by the pandemic, Kornit’s printers can customize and personalize for the masses while making the production of fashion and textiles as sustainable as possible through on-demand production that includes zero overproduction, zero water waste, and zero carbon emissions.
The four-day Kornit Fashion Week is being attended by designers, retailers, e-commerce heavyweights, and others, demonstrating the convergence of design, technology, and fashion, which are central elements to Kornit’s strategy.
Designer Alon Livne, the famed Israeli designer who has dressed the likes of Neta Barzilai and Beyonce, will close out this year’s Fashion Week unveiling a collection he made using Kornit technology.