Kosher Casual is an Israeli fashion company that has been serving the American market as an online shopping platform since 2010. Kalman Labovitz, who took over the company last year after founder Gary Swickley retired, is improving the company’s technology and production processes to make shopping easier and more efficient with more varied design options. He has moved the company to the Shopify platform and is warehousing stock in the United States to make shipping quicker. He is standardizing sizing among all the Kosher Casual lines, and sourcing fabric from outside of Israel to include beautiful prints unavailable in Israel.
In Israel, Kosher Casual is moving from an industrial location to a new store in Ramat Bet Shemesh’s Hashdera Mall on March 1. Labovitz said the mall, located in the heart of an Anglo community, is expanding and becoming a great destination for locals and visitors with medical offices, consumer goods stores, restaurants and coffee shops.
Kosher Casual’s mission is to help teens and women look fashionable in comfortable clothes for everyday living. Whatever your lifestyle, Kosher Casual has the basics that form the backbone of your wardrobe, at reasonable prices. Teen girls need practical mix-and-match pieces for school and social get-togethers. Women who work at home but have a Zoom call during the day, or a coffee date with friends, still want to look put together. Foundational items like shells and layering pieces have to look good to peek through a dress or a top. When busy young moms leave their cocoon to take the kids to a playdate or park, they want to wear something functional but still attractive. And there’s nothing like a nice, comfortable maxi dress for an at-home Shabbat dinner when it’s just immediate family.
Although he doesn’t have a fashion background, Labovitz was interested in owning his own company. He had been helping Swickley with Kosher Casual’s technology for many years, so he knew the company and its potential. “It is an established, wonderful brand,” he noted. “Technology wise, it was behind the times.”
He saw an unmet need in women’s fashions that he is now in a position to fill, after shopping for his teenage daughter during COVID when his wife was expecting. “I had the great honor of walking around Jerusalem trying to find my clothing for my daughter,” he said. “It was quite frustrating because she’s a bit taller and there wasn’t much available for her. For Pesach, I went to about 35 different stores just to get her one outfit.”
Leanne Wacks is the designer and production direction for Kosher Casual. She came to Kosher Casual after making aliyah from South Africa seven years ago, where she had her own clothing brand. She came in as a customer, and started working there summers. She gave Swickley suggestions on what fashions to offer and eventually she became integral to the brand’s designs. “My head’s always immersed in the latest fashion and I’m always looking,” she said. “When I make my designs, I put a lot of love and passion into it. I really give my all and it’s a real compliment when everyone tells me they love the clothing. It’s good quality and it fits well.” She balances keeping the basics and introducing new styles and fabrics to keep the brand fresh. “In order to keep customers returning, you have to have something new for them to see, otherwise they lose interest,” she said. “I think it’s important to have new fashions, new fabrics, new colors and new ideas. But our focus is primarily basics.” Always receptive to customer requests, she has begun adding pockets to many styles. “Moms running after their kids need a pocket to put their phones,” she said, “so we are putting a pocket wherever we can.”
Designing for both the American and Israeli customer is a challenge. The weather in Israel now is hot, so people don’t want to see winter any more, Wacks observed. Meanwhile, with the cold spell in parts of the U.S., spring seems very far away. “We see what sells online and what sells in the store. And it’s really completely different,” she said. “It’s like two businesses together, but we can design and manage for both markets.”
Florals continue to be very popular, Wacks said, which is why they are diversifying their fabric sources outside of Israel. “We don’t have prints in Israel, which is very frustrating,” she said. “Fabric is what sells the product, especially if it’s a print that’s summery and vibrant.”
Devorah Ohayon is Kosher Casual’s social media content creator and manager in addition to being head of customer support. Originally from Scotland, Ohayon made aliyah in 1993. After a move to Canada with her Moroccan-Canadian husband, the couple came back in 2005. Ohayon worked in travel and then became a stay-at-home mom. She began working for Kosher Casual at night in home sales and then as the company’s full-time web order manager with customer support. Ohayon said she has always been very creative so she began doing live Facebook posts to showcase Kosher Casual fashions. As the audience grew, she expanded their social media presence to include Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. She blogs about fashion ideas and tips to help customers. Read her story about how to go through your closet to find new combinations, and fill in with a few missing pieces, in this section.
For basics that are functional and attractive, visit Kosher Casual at Follow at and
If you’re visiting Israel, stop by the new store in Ramat Bet Shemesh at the Hashdera Mall.
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