“People buy clothes that represent them. Just looking good isn't enough.”
Shira Dolinger, the founder of Verner, discusses the growing fashion industry in Israel, her customers, and her reasons for joining the protests.
I meet Shira Dolinger, the founder of Verner boutique, on the first day of her store’s pop-up at The George Hotel—a new and trendy spot in Tel Aviv. The George is a club, hotel, coworking space, restaurant, and bar all rolled into one, hosting nightly events that attract both locals and "temporary locals," as they call them on their website. Since its start in 2011, Verner has been bringing contemporary fashion to Tel Aviv. Now, its core brands, handpicked by Shira and her team, are available at the Ramat Aviv Mall, where Verner has been operating since 2020, and online. These include Acne Studios, Totême, Maison Margiela, Sporty and Rich, Ganni, and JW Anderson—an assortment you can't go wrong with. Shira has been working with some of these brands from the beginning. For the pop-up, which will run until the end of June, Shira selected a light mix of cruise clothing, perfect for the tourists starting to return to the city.
We meet late in the morning in The George's restaurant, and Shira orders a coffee.
Shira – It's going to be my fourth [coffee], I'm so bad. I wake up early, like 5:30. I have three kids and I have emails, work, news, Instagram, culture. I like to drink my coffee quietly without any interference. I hate doing things when I'm stressed.
What's your day like when something like this pop-up happens? Does it change your routine? Do you have to do some extra work?
Actually not so much now that it's happening. Before, just the planning and visualizing, making sure it works with this place, and editing from the store to make it a very light collection that suits the weather and clientele. We're very strong at the (Ramat Aviv) mall with denim and suiting, some evening wear which won't work here, so we select just super light pieces, some staples like Acne Studios and Totême rib tanks, which are our bread and butter in the mall. Our buyer Shiran Mania, who is very good, helps with the planning. Maybe it adds a little extra to my daily routine, but I have a great team. I just came here to meet you, make sure everything works, and enjoy this place which I love.
My friend Eyal is the president of the club (The George—J.V.). It's a hotel with apartments all pre-purchased, and there's the club. Every night there's a concert or a jazz show, or something else. There's an amazing working area, a pool, a spa, and a gym. For me, during these times in Israel, I call it my escape room. I'm so involved—sometimes too much—with everything that's going on. As soon as I walk in, it's a reset for me. I feel like I'm somewhere else.
How did the pop-up come about?
When I was offered to have the pop-up here at The George, I thought it was perfect. I was worried because it's also a hotel and now there's no tourism, so I decided to wait until the pool opened to see the traffic. There's quite a lot of traffic here. I can see that a lot of people feel the same as me: it's a nice place to escape from our everyday reality.
How big is your team?
We have 10 employees at Verner. Our buyer, Shiran Mania, is quite an influencer here. She’s a stylist, she has a very high-end, minimalistic taste. I’ve known Shiran for many years, since she was 19. When I just opened Verner, she was a good customer. My capacity to add staff to the buying team was limited before I moved to the mall four years ago. Once I made the move, everything—revenues, buying, budget, team—grew. I was happy to finally have someone who shares my vision for aesthetics and quality to help with buying. Shiran does the first picks, I do the quantities and editing. I also have a store manager in charge of the Ramat Aviv store. Employees are like my kids; we really hand-pick everyone. We're going to see the Margiela documentary on Saturday, the entire team. Everyone is excited about it.
It’s great for a deeper understanding of the brand.
We do a lot of training. It’s important for us to have knowledge about collections and inspiration.
What are your main brands?
Acne Studios is our flagship brand in the store. They support us, and we support them. I've been working with them from the beginning. I used to live in New York and was a buyer there. Their first denim collection had three styles represented by a showroom in New York. I bought it and fell in love with the team, which was four people back then.
Another brand I love is Ganni. I discovered them at a trade show in Copenhagen. Back then they were a small company, they had no money and drove to Paris with their collection in a van. Their first collection was sold to Verner, Net-a-Porter, and maybe MyTheresa. They focus on sustainability and have made impressive progress, you can follow that on their site. They aim to be 100% sustainable but realize it's challenging.
Working with a privately owned brand like Acne is so rare. It's different when you see the collection and understand they work more with their personal goals rather than just number goals.
They have this luxury.
I think this is what makes them so influential on the market. And they are still such a small brand by choice and they are doing so great.
It's interesting to see each collection and what's behind it. Brands like Totême do super high-end quality pieces that can be used every day and can be elevated from day to night. The depth of each collection’s inspiration is not always something you can speak a lot about, but I love it. It's a good tool for my employees to listen and tell customers because it adds value. It's easy to sell staple items, but understanding the story behind harder-to-sell pieces makes a difference.
Can you tell me about your career? You mentioned that you lived in New York.
Yes, and studied fashion design at Parsons with Alexander Wang and Proenza’s Jack and Lazaro.
So you knew from the beginning what you wanted to do.
I thought so. But after a year, I switched to fashion merchandising and buying at FIT. I started working as a buyer for a company called Big Drop, which had four stores in New York. After a few years, I worked for Atrium, which is now Kith. I learned a lot about products and designers there. It was all in the aughts.
What came next for you?
Motherhood. (Laughs.) I got pregnant with my first child in New York. I was offered a promotion but decided to move back to Israel to raise my kids here, which I sometimes regret in the past few months.
Did you find a job here?
It was tough. It was 2009. The fashion scene was limited to Kikar HaMedina (a square in Tel Aviv where high-end designer stores are located—J.V.), local designers and mass market brands in the malls, with no e-commerce or Instagram, and hardly any Facebook. I started interviewing and I just couldn't find anything that I’d like to do. It was challenging.
Back then a contemporary fashion market started rising: Rebecca Johnson, Philip Plein. That market was very much US oriented. I saw the opportunity to open a contemporary store with my connections from New York. I started with brands like Acne Studios and Maison Margiela and opened a shop in the south of Tel Aviv. I saw it as the next Meatpacking district. But traffic was not as I expected. I moved to the center of Tel Aviv, and later to the Ramat Aviv mall, to grow the business.
We opened [in Ramat Aviv] a month before COVID, which was challenging, but we had e-commerce to help. We had an app for customers to schedule appointments because we couldn't have many people in the store. The positive side was that we got to really know some people well, who are now very good customers. They schedule coffee with their manager. They're texting, "Are you there? I want to come, I want to show you something."
Tell me about Verner’s customers.
It's a huge variety. We have younger clientele for Ganni and Sporty & Rich. For their birthday, they bring their mom or a relative to buy them Acne denim. Our core customers are around 40 to 50 years old, with a quiet luxury style like Acne suits. We buy specific items for customers we know well. We have customers that are obsessed with Maison Margiela. We also cater to people who might not be so fashion-educated. Not “frechot”... how do you say? Girls who don't understand brands but think they're cool and will buy for the style and fit. Now in the mall, people come without necessarily knowing us or the brand.
What can you say about the fashion scene in Israel? How has it changed over the years?
It has grown a lot, thanks to social media. People are much more aware of what's happening. Israelis are very much into learning and trends. Russian and French migration influenced style and aesthetics here. You see more well-dressed people in the street with better understanding [of fashion]. People buy clothes that represent them. Just looking good isn't enough—they want to feel a connection with the piece they purchase. I think this change is amazing.
Is it true that Israeli culture is about modesty, especially in clothing?
I think it's still true, especially in kibbutzim (communities in Israel that are traditionally based on agriculture—J.V.), which are still very modest and don't appreciate luxury. They value simple living. In terms of customer behavior I think there are two main groups in Israel: those who care about showing they have money, brands and logos (and I don’t think Verner caters to that group so much), and those who appreciate luxury and quality. The latter is a small niche that often shops overseas or online. This group is growing because quiet luxury is on the rise. I see this even with my family members who are not interested in fashion but start appreciating items for their quality.
What changed for you when the war started? How did you feel, both personally and work-wise?
Personally and professionally, it was hard. The store was closed for over a month during what was supposed to be our busiest time. The mall owners were very understanding. Financially, it was tough, but I had help. Our customers, who are intelligent and aware, felt the impact of the political situation. They were more depressed and less able to disconnect from the outside world to enjoy shopping. I closed the store three times last year as a protest against what was happening in the government, and got good feedback from most customers. The brands we work with were also very understanding and helpful—we had to cancel some orders and reduce quality. The store is doing well now, and it's a place for customers to escape from the outside chaos.
Now I think that what’s happening here will definitely impact the industry. I had a lot of plans that are on hold now. Nobody wants a mono brand in Tel Aviv right now. A lot of brands that we approach would like to wait and see.
What are your thoughts and hopes about the political situation in Israel? Are you optimistic?
Most of the time, I'm not optimistic, but going to protests twice a week fills me with optimism (In Tel Aviv, ongoing protests involve family members of hostages held by Hamas, who are urging the government to negotiate a deal for the release of their loved ones—J.V.). There's a huge difference between the people and those in charge. We're tired and need to take part in what's going on. I think that Netanyahu needs to go for things to change. People need to be more proactive, but they're not on the streets, they are afraid. I know many celebrities and influencers who face a lot of hate as soon as they try to speak up. But the support we show each other in protests gives strength.
As a mother of three I cannot think of not being with the families of the kidnapped. I wish I could go every day. I know that some days there are only a few there, some days there’s a hundred. It’s not something that I enjoy. Saturday for me is family time, and I don’t feel like going out. But I just can’t stay home. I don’t think that me being there can change anything, I just think that me being there is just what a human being should do. And this is something that gives the families power to go on.
How do your customers react to you being vocal about your political stance?
I see a lot of my customers at protests. I show appreciation to public figures who take a stance. Most people are afraid to speak out because of the potential backlash from Netanyahu supporters and the impact on their business or personal life. But our customers generally support us, and it's important to show our stance.
Shira Dolinger on Instagram: @shira_dolinger
Verner on Instagram: @verner_tel_aviv
5 short questions for Shira Dolinger:
What's your favorite brand or garment this season?
Acne Studios. They did a summer capsule with super light fabrics that I love.
Favorite place in Tel Aviv?
The George hotel.
Advice to yourself 20 years ago?
Invest in real estate.
Favorite month in Tel Aviv?
Mid-May to mid-June, when it's warm but not too hot, and everything is fresh.
Favorite Israeli dish?
Sabih (pita bread stuffed with fried eggplants, hard boiled eggs and tahini—J.V.)
It’s the only junk pita food I cannot resist.