Browsing through hundreds of lists, post, articles and interviews done over the years with fashion designers and style influencers, I read a lot about where they drive their inspiration from. It is always a fascinating read to me, as I'm always on the quest for a new source or a new spark to get me going with my writing.
As a fashion journalist, I do my daily reading like everyone else in this industry. I follow the fashion news sites almost religiously, and go crazy during fashion weeks to make sure I go through hundreds of photos taken at the runways. I guess that's doing the obvious, and I really wonder where it all starts, or what are the ingredients for my own personal style.
I was born in Israel, a tiny dot on the controversial side of the Mediterranean. For such a tiny dot, I find it amazing how we do have it all here: There is snow in the north during the winter, there's the Mediterranean sea, there is the miraculous Dead Sea and there is a huge desert, a wonder that is really hard to comprehend when you see it, as it's different from anything else you get to see here.
I spent my latest vacation by the Red Sea lately, and had (maybe too many) hours and hours in the sun by the water. I specifically chose the Dolphins Reef as my favorite spot to hang out and relax, as it's so beautiful there. It has just about all the colours I needed to see in order to understand what is my personal style about and where it comes from.
I'm not considered the most colourful person in the world. On the contrary; I assume people relate me more and more with a slick, clean and super monochromatic wardrobe, and it is true. I feel best in black, white, grey and navy. I was never a big fan of colourful prints and combinations. I like cotton and silk, and I never liked artificial Polyester, as it never felt really nice against my skin.
So back to the Red Sea - I was there by myself for an hour so, by the water, and found myself playing with little stones while I was in the water. When I was holding many of them in my hand, my first thought was: They are so colorful and different from one another, and still, they all seem to perfectly match the tone of my skin.
There were bronze, black, grey, beize, red, brown, green and many were funny mixes of these colours which somehow made sense to my critical eyes. Their shapes were different from one another but as much as they were common they were also very unusual, because we all know that no stone is equal to any other.
I looked around, and it was mid April, spring's high-time in Israel. Everything was blossoming and beautiful around me, in shiny Fuchsia and white and yellow and green, and the water was so clear.
So here it all was. It's what I wear. I wear nature. My style is not eclectic and it's not Middle Eastern. I wear what I see growing and living around me: I love the colours that come from the little stones in the sea, and I am always searching for the new cut and shape of clothes. Geometric cuts are much more interesting to me than yet anther colorful print. I like the fabrics that let air in and don't block my skin from the sun and from the natural motion of everything I come in touch with.
It might be monochromatic and sometimes even a little boring, but I grew up at such a special little piece of land, that I would love to wear and I do, easily.
Hilla Ohayon,
www.HillaOhayon.com