“I am beyond excited. This has always been my biggest dream,” says fashion designer Shani Shemer, who over the past decade has become one of the leading swimwear designers to emerge from Israel. The reason for her excitement is Ivanka Trump’s choice to wear one of her designs to a family wedding.
“To see Ivanka Trump wearing my designs is a dream come true,” Shemer added. “It is something I always talked about and aspired to. Now that this crazy moment has happened, I suppose I need to find myself a new dream.”
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“To see Ivanka Trump wearing my designs is a dream come true.” Shani Shemer’s set
(Photo: Alon Shafransky)
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Ivanka Trump wears a Shani Shemer design
(Photo: From Ivanka Trump’s official Instagram account, @ivankatrump)
Donald Trump Jr. married his partner, Bettina Anderson, in the Bahamas over the weekend. According to reports in American gossip sites, the intimate ceremony included only about 50 guests, mostly family members, after the couple had earlier married in a civil ceremony in Florida. Notably absent were the groom’s father, U.S. President Donald Trump, and his wife Melania, who skipped the wedding because of public commitments.
The groom’s sister, Ivanka Trump, chose a blue outfit designed by Shemer that included a sheer top and matching flared pants, worn over a metallic bikini set that peeked through underneath. The set is currently being sold at a 50% discount for 795 shekels (about $280), with the top priced at 324 shekels and the pants at 471 shekels. Shemer’s designs are sold online and in leading department stores around the world, including Bergdorf Goodman and others.
In a 2022 interview with ynet, Shemer described her path from a small studio in the northern city of Afula to success as one of Israel’s leading fashion exporters. After returning from a yearlong trip to the United States, she opened a tanning salon in the northern city. At the same time, she began importing swimsuits and selling them to her clients.
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“Now that this crazy moment has happened, I suppose I need to find myself a new dream.” Shani Shemer
(Photo: Adi Edri)
“I realized that the swimsuits we were importing to Israel did not suit the customers,” she said. “The swimsuits I imported from the U.S. suited women with large breasts and large buttocks; in Brazil they have small breasts and small buttocks, and in Israel, everyone had silicone and a small butt. I identified a need here.”
According to Shemer, working with international retailers such as Shopbop, Intermix, Fwrd and Revolve came with demands from buying teams. “The American retailers keep pushing me toward more commercial, sexier designs, but I feel as if Ivanka Trump and I were separated in a previous life because I connect so strongly with her classic look,” she said four years ago.
“In Israel, I’ve dressed everyone I wanted to dress,” she added. “Internationally, the dream was Ivanka Trump. Gal Gadot even came to my studio before filming ‘Red Notice,’ and we designed a special piece for her. Unfortunately, she did not end up wearing it in the film, but meeting her was an amazing experience.”