GOTTEX SWIMSUITS | Tel Aviv Beach

View 2015 and 2016 Gottex Swim Suits, Profile by Gottex and watch the Swimsuit Fashion Show videos. See Tel Aviv Beach, the home of Gottex and swimwear inspiration.

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Situated on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and home of Gottex designer swimwear, Tel Aviv, Israel, enjoys a moderate climate, pristine beaches and a string of five-star hotels. A year round tourist destination, Tel Aviv is but a short drive from nearby International Ben Gurion airport.

A favorite port-of-call for cruise ships touring the Mediterranean, Israel offers sand beaches in Tel Aviv, night clubs on the North Tel Aviv beach, and a shopper's paradise in the city. (Shopping in the Gottex Factory Outlet is a must-do when visiting Tel Aviv!)

Archeological sites abound in the South Tel Aviv port of ancient Jaffa (Yafo), a natural boat harbor in continuous use for more than 5,000 years. It is believed by many to be the oldest port in the world. King Solomon, 3,000 years ago, used this port to import cedar from Lebanon to build the First Temple in Jerusalem.

Lonely Planet rated Tel Aviv as one of the three top tourist destinations in the world. Its Bauhaus architecture is listed as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage.

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Tel Aviv Beach

The Gottex Company

The Gottex Swimsuit

Gottex Swimsuit Design

Swimwear

Gottex at Fashion Week 2015 Video

Profile by Gottex

Gottex Founder Lea Gottlieb

Tel Aviv is the home of the world renowned swimsuit design house, Gottex. From its humble beginnings near the ancient port of Jaffa in 1956, Gottex quickly dominated the swimsuit industry in Israel and became the world's largest exporter of swimwear in 1984.

Swimsuits top the list of necessities for visiting Tel Aviv, whether for the beach, the pools in luxury hotels or the magnificent spa treatments available in the city. And the number one swimsuit designer in Israel is Gottex.

Elizabeth Taylor, Natalie Wood, Diana Princess of Wales, Jackie Onassis, Princess Lee Radziwill, Britain's Princess Anne, Brooke Shields, Queen Sofia of Spain, Barbara Walters – all have been photographed wearing their own Gottex swimwear. Gottex is regularly featured in the famous Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, worn by top models such as Bar Rafaeli, Heidi Klum, Kate Upton, Anne V. (Vyalitsyna), and Irina Shayk, among many others.

Gottex was one of the first swimsuit designers to incorporate jewelry on bathing suits. In the industry, this embellishment is known as hardware. But in a Gottex bathing suit, only the term jewelry is appropriate.

The classic Evening Rose swimsuit takes its cue from an elegant cocktail dress. This slimming black suit has added tummy control and an optical illusion embedded design that flatters any waistline.

With a jewelry clasp at the waist, this is the perfect basic black suit for your swimwear wardrobe.

The suit comes with soft cups and the straps are adjustable, assuring a comfortable fit.

Jewelry is a picture on the fabric itself in the Pandoras Box designer suit from Gottex.

This suit is ideal for smaller bust lines because of the design embellishment.

1. Fabric and Fit – One of the hallmarks of Gottex design is the fabric. Spandex was, in fact, invented in Israel and was first used in the company's swimwear. The perfect fit of a Gottex swimsuit owes much to the generous use of spandex, which is in a greater percentage than other manufacturers. Gottex was also the first to introduce the in-suit bra.

You will think that Gottex is haute couture, if you've ever stepped in to one of its swimsuits.

Nothing fits like a Gottex.

2. Print Design – But the high quality of the fabrics is surpassed by the beauty of the fabric designs. All designs are created by Gottex and used exclusively in the firm's swimwear line. Some of the fabrics look like paintings by Matisse or Renoir.

Company founder Lea Gottlieb (1918-2012) explained her use of colors as:

"the aqua of the Mediterranean, the golden yellow of the desert, the blue of Lake Tiberias [the Sea of Galilee], the pink of Jerusalem stone and the greens of the Galilee."

Gottlieb also used color to accentuate features of the female form in a unique and sensual way as no other designer had dared to do before.

3. Ensemble Collections – Women the world over appreciate the ensemble collections that go for a swim, then to lunch on the beach, and on to dining in the evening. View the ensemble collections below:

Gottex designer Susan Hersh explains the swimwear ensemble:

"A woman should always have a cover-up. I think that she should always have a pareo and if she has a large pareo, she can actually do a million things with it. She can wear it as a dress; she can wear it as a jacket and she can wear it as a pant. So, it's a versatile piece."

The pareo is a must-have cruise wear item and is always the correct fashion choice. Each pareo is made from a specially designed fabric to perfectly coordinate with each bathing suit in an ensemble collection.

This style puts the accents in the right places to enhance your figure.

Accentuate your figure with the Gottex Lattice swimsuit.

Notice the figure-shaping fabric design.

The eye moves to every curve in this vibrant fuchsia suit.

This style looks fabulous from a distance and is sensual and sophisticated in close-up.

Go read the five-star reviews from women who have this fabulous Gottex creation.

This swimsuit comes with adjustable straps.

This was a big hit for the Spring collection and is mostly sold out. A few shops might have one or two pieces left. If you find this design pattern in your size, consider yourself fortunate!

There is also a cover-up skirt and palero in the Black Dahlia collection.

Molly Grad, Gottex Creative Director, has years of experience with top fashion houses such as Stella McCartney and Yves Saint Laurent.

She emphasizes the classic beauty of black swimwear.

"To me it's really timeless pieces that really do stand out and have such a beautiful, chic aesthetic. I can see you wearing these in ten years' time or even fifty years' time."

Gottex was the first design firm devoted solely to swimwear. Gottex invented the in-suit bra and is famous for offering hard to find D and E cup sizes.

The Gottex Profile Collection is made to mix and match tops and bottoms in different sizes, to achieve a custom fit for every figure type.

Popular in this line is the tankini top. The tankini top covers more of the torso area than a traditional two-piece suit or a bikini.

This style is preferred by women who have undergone surgery, women with long-waist figures, and women who prefer a less clingy swimsuit style. The tankini is also a flattering style for women with smaller breasts and some styles feature push-up bras.

To de-emphasize hips, choose a black bikini bottom with a flowered top.

The swimsuits below are all from the Gottex Profile Collection.

Lea Gottlieb was born in Hungry in 1918. Lea's husband Armin Gottlieb was sent to Nazi forced-labor camps during World War II while Lea and their two young daughters hid in Budapest. The family survived the Holocaust and settled for a time in Czechoslovakia where they established a factory for producing raincoats.

They immigrated to Israel in 1949 and soon found themselves without resources. The true story of Lea's rise from poverty has been told many times. Lea sold her wedding ring to buy fabric and borrowed a sewing machine. In her small apartment in Jaffa, she made her first swimsuit to sell.

In 1956, Gottex was founded. The name, Lea said, "is a combination of the words Gottlieb and textiles."

Throughout her life, Lea designed swimsuits with flower motifs. Lea once hid her head in a bouquet of daisies to divert the attention from Nazi checkpoint guards. She once said, "Flowers saved my life during the war."

Lea worked twelve-hour days at Gottex until she sold the company in 1997. After her no-compete clause with the new owners expired, she started a new swimsuit design business at the age of 85.

In November, 2012, Lea passed away at her Tel Aviv home at the age of 96. She is survived by one daughter, six grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

The Design Museum of Holon, Israel, featured an exhibition in honor of Lea Gottlieb in May, 2013. The tribute was called Lady of the Daisies and you may view it online here.

Author Helen Shuman writes: "Lea came up with an idea no one before had thought of: to inject glamour into women's swimsuits and beachwear."

The book traces the life of this remarkable woman who, with a borrowed sewing machine, created the world's number one swimwear exporting company.

Read more about great tourist destinations in Israel – Bethlehem of Galilee and Bethlehem of Judah:

BETHLEHEM ISRAEL

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Before your Israel vacation, learn the Jewish alphabet with this free, online quick study method:

JEWISH ALPHABET

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Photo of David InterContinental Hotel is by courtesy of Ronen Alkelay.