Regev’s Jerusalem dress makes waves

The dress Culture Minister Miri Regev wore to the Cannes Film Festival in France on Wednesday night did not go unnoticed – although clearly that was the idea.

Regev, who showed up on the red carpet in a floor-length gown emblazoned with the Jerusalem skyline, knew she was making a statement.

The dress, designed by Aviad Arik Herman was made of brocade, and the bodice was gold with a mesh overlay and a neckline adorned with rhinestones, gems and gold leaf. The skirt of the dress was white, and a 360-degree image of the Jerusalem skyline – including al-Aksa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock – was printed on the fabric around the bottom. The cityscape was created in conjunction with graphic designer Boris Sultanov.

Herman works mostly as a costume designer, in addition to being the chief designer for Miss Universe Sweden.

Regev’s dress received immediate attention, and was circulated rapidly on social media as she was still walking the red carpet.

While many had positive things to say, others weren’t quite as flattering.

Singer Aviv Geffen wrote on Twitter: “It’s probably better to divide Jerusalem than to wear it.”

The dress was also ripe for satire, with people photoshopping everything from a Likud campaign poster to the West Bank separation barrier and other Israeli cities onto the dress’s lower half. Some went with iconic images from films or Israeli history, while another Internet user photoshopped the dress itself onto one of the princesses from the Frozen movie poster.

Regev, for her part, seemed thrilled with the attention, and told Channel 2 News she hoped the dress would be preserved and displayed in a museum in Jerusalem.

“I got so many moving responses yesterday,” she said, adding that people “were approaching me to search for the Kotel and the Temple Mount [on my dress] – it’s amazing to see how much people love Jerusalem!”