Tel Aviv’s customer maker

If you’re active on social media, chances are you’ve come across videos of people in recent years breathtakingly elaborate costumes roaming the streets of Tel Aviv.

These videos usually appear around the holiday of Purim, but the person making the costumes is busy all year round.

Rise to fame

Orgad Edery, 31, is essentially a one-man show who runs the Mustache Art Studio in South Tel Aviv.

“I am a wearable art designer,” Edery tells ISRAEL21c. “I design costumes, props, masks and so on.”

The studio is one of a few similar companies in Israel, each of which, he says, has its own niche.

Although Edery has been in the business for a while, his six-year-old studio rose to prominence after he was asked to work on the Israeli version of The Masked Singer, which pits celebrities in costumes and masks to conceal their appearance. identity.

With just a small team of a few freelance helpers, Edery has been making costumes for the Israeli version of the show since it started three years ago.

Since then, he had the opportunity to collaborate with Netta Barzilai, the Israeli winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2018.

Barzilai joined a medley of past winners at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool, and Edery had the pleasure of designing the stage costume the singer wore for the performance.

The King of Purim

When it comes to the most notable clients he has ever worked with, Edery ranks Barzilai next to Aviram Carmeli.

The name may not ring a bell for many, but Carmeli has become the unofficial king of Purim thanks to his outrageous costumes. Videos of him driving through the streets of Tel Aviv every year always go viral.

Edery calls the design work he does for Carmeli “rideable stuff,” since the costumes have to be attached to a skateboard.

One of the most intricate works Edery ever created for Carmeli was his most recent Purim outfit featuring Aang, a character from Avatar the Last Airbender, riding a bison.

“It was one of the most challenging projects, which we had to complete in just three days. It weighed about 30 pounds (14 kg) and was made of fur-covered foam and some plastic,” he tells ISRAEL21c.

“We built a whole infrastructure inside to mount it on an electric skateboard. I felt like a car designer,” he laughs.

After October 7

This year’s Purim celebration felt less festive for many Israelis, including Edery.

“This year I wanted to make a costume that related to the hostages. But then I thought people needed a break, they’re already getting bad news through their veins.”

He admits that the first months after the start of the war in Gaza were difficult in many ways.

“When something like this (the October 7 attacks) happens, the entertainment industry is pushed aside, leaving me out of work for months.”

Early on, the Israeli military was short of body armor. “So I was bombarded with calls asking if I could sew ceramic vests,” he recalls.

This prompted Edery to raise money to purchase sewing machines. “But at the same time I wondered how I would ever make a living again,” he admits.

However, after a few months, war fatigue began to take hold of the public and the entertainment world began to open up again.

The effort

Looking at the incredibly elaborate costumes, it looks like they could take months to create. But, Edery admits, the work extends beyond the time he has available.

“Usually it takes a month to a month and a half to complete a project, but sometimes we only have a few days and we make it happen.”

He says making a costume for an individual is different from making a design to be worn by multiple people.

“It also depends on who the customer is, what their needs are and how long they plan to use it,” he explains.

“Sometimes you have to invest in details and sometimes in sustainability. Costumes made for television are used for about a week, but costumes made for theater, for example, are used for much longer.”

Started from the bottom up

An avid lover of cosplay (costume play), Edery started making costumes as a hobby with basic supplies, but it soon turned into something more.

“I was obsessed with figuring out how they make (costumes) in the film industry, and I started learning on my own — from sculpting to design to makeup.”

Edery, a software developer by trade who spent six years as a paid professional in the military, decided the world of technology wasn’t for him.

He eventually began helping other designers create costumes until he graduated to designing himself and working directly with clients.

“Started from the bottom, now we’re here,” he laughs, quoting a line from a famous song by Jewish rapper Drake.

Edery would like to test his skills abroad.

“For a long time I made other people’s dreams come true and forgot my own. I want to see the world. I want to push myself beyond costumes – making art for art’s sake.”

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