Motty Reif, the founder and producer of Kornit Fashion Week, chatted with Digital Journal’s Markos Papadatos.
A world-renowned entrepreneur, Reif has over 30 years of experience in the field, having created, produced, and directed hundreds of fashion and lifestyle events, television productions, and documentary films around the world, and is the founder of Kornit Fashion Week Tel Aviv, which is in its 10th season.
He is also responsible for curating the participating selection of visionary designers whose collaborations with Kornit Digital will be impacting not just the US territories but the entire industry worldwide.
“I created the Tel Aviv Fashion Week in 2011 with a mission to change the way fashion weeks are done,” he said. “I wanted for everyone to be able to be represented, to recognize themselves. But also, to change the definition of beauty and what it is to be a model in bringing people from different backgrounds, sizes, genders, and religions to walk the runway.”
“With Kornit Digital, we wanted to create an international alternative Fashion Week brand, and we thought first about Los Angeles, as an exciting megalopolis bringing people from different cultures together. It’s a city where creation has no limits and brought each time in a new genre,” he said.
“At the Kornit Fashion Week LA, you will be able to assist to 18 shows with 23 designers from all over the world from November 2nd to November 5th. They created collections in partnership with Kornit Digital an Israeli company developing advanced digital textile printing solutions. All designers pushed Kornit Digital’s technologies beyond their limits to present creative collections at their best,” he said.
“The Kornit Fashion Week LA has the same mission of diversity as the Kornit Tel Aviv Fashion Week does,” he said. “We partnered with Kornit Digital to bring the sustainability dimension to it. These are our two main focuses for this coming event, to make a change in the Fashion industry. I make sure that every designer presenting a collection to our event respect these two missions.”
“Sustainability is brought through attention to how collections are developed. Kornit Digital considers sustainability to be a core company value, and invests great effort and resources in minimizing the company’s environmental footprint,” he said.
“Kornit Digital operates in a sustainable, responsible manner by developing digital printing solutions that are inherently more environmentally friendly than both traditional and other digital printing methods in the industry,” he added.
He continued, “Kornit Digital’s products meet the highest sustainability standards with zero wastewater and a low carbon footprint, enabling on-demand printing that fits today’s consumer culture. This is why this event is unique, we are here to make a change, not just to present collections. We pushed designers to change their way of producing, and to think about their collections, but also how to present them. We want to have positive social and environmental impacts.”
On his future plans with Kornit Fashion Week LA, he said, “The Kornit Fashion Week LA will be an annual event welcoming more and more designers to showcase their collections in an unparalleled and innovative Fashion Week. Our goal is to be the place-to-be for designers that wants to change this industry. Next year we are planning to be present in four cities, including Tel Aviv, London, Paris, and Los Angeles.”
It will also be unveiling original pieces that demonstrate revolutionary digital printing technologies. “Kornit Digital has been developing technologies since 2002 with sustainability and social responsibility their cores. Kornit Digital created the Neo-Pigment, an innovative, eco-friendly, chemical-free ink, capable of bringing bright colors to life on any kind of fabrics while protecting the environment and safe to customers and employees,” he said.
“During the Kornit Fashion Week LA, attendees will also be able to admire more visible applications like 3D effects and embossments on designers prints, but also printed embroidery with Kornit Digital’s XDi technology, looking and feeling like hand-embroidered garments,” he added.
On his definition of success, he said, “The success of this Kornit Fashion Week LA will be measured through the influence we will have on our designers, the attendees of our shows, and also to the change we will be capable of doing to this industry. We need to be conscientious to the impact the fashion industry has on our planet and on customers: we are damaging it and the people who are living on it.”
“With this new perspective of complete diversity and sustainable on-demand manufacturing, we are opening eyes to the actors that are composing fashion. The success we will also be through the inclusivity shown through our models walking the runway of our designers: meaning we will be representing everybody,” he explained.
He concluded about Kornit Fashion Week LA, “It will make you feel comfortable with who you are, and your inner beauty. Everybody is unique and beautiful the way they are, it goes far beyond the physical appearance. At our event, you will be represented no matter who you are or where you are coming from.”
To learn more about Kornit Digital, check out its official website.
