Pnina Tornai
Encyclopedia
Pnina Tornai, born in 1962, is a wedding dress designer from Israel
. She has a made a name for herself by selling dresses in Kleinfeld Bridal salon on the television show Say Yes to the Dress
. She started out with a dream to be an actress but that got put aside when her third husband convinced her to bring her dresses to Kleinfeld Bridal Salon. Pnina's designs were rejected at the start but she did not give up, instead she later returned. This time her new designs were accepted and she has been Kleinfeld's best seller since. She never took a sewing lesson and her designs are wanted by brides across the world.
. After she finished high school
, she enlisted for military
service. In Israel
, when a male or female turns 18, he or she must enlist in the military
. Once her stint in the military
ended, she decided to pursue her acting career by enrolling in acting school in Paris
. Pnina married David Charles Meshulam in 1984, the two had a son. Her son, who resides in a suburb Tel Aviv
called B'nai Brak, is 26. He is currently studying the Torah
full time, which he has done since he became religious many years ago. Pnina had a love for acting, but her first husband convinced her to quit acting school. She then married husband number two and divorced him. After him she got married to her third husband, David Levinshtein, in March of 2000. David attended UCLA, where he received a master's degree in business. David was the man who persuaded Pnina into bringing some of her designs to Kleinfeld, when the two were in Los Angeles
. Pnina's mother passed away in December of 2010. She now resides in Ramat Hasharon
.
she returned to Isreal, with her son, and knew that she needed to make money. In her thirties, she opened a small store in Tel Aviv
, with only one seamstress to help, she herself had never taken a sewing lesson. The two began creating evening and everyday day gowns. Pnina started making dresses for more then just her clientele in her shop, around 1992, when a women asked her to make her a wedding dress which mirrored an evening gown
that the woman had seen in the shop window. Pnina accepted the challenge. When the woman married her fiancé, the photo of their wedding made the front page of an Israel
newspaper. When other brides saw the picture, they asked her to replicate the dress, this situation was what launched her career. Pnina then turned her store into a wedding dress salon and began selling dresses from this store.
In 2005, Pnina first showed her dresses to Kleinfeld, they denied her designs because of her use of lace
in the dresses. Pnina did not give up, instead she redesigned her dresses to match the style of a Kleinfeld's dress and returned a while later. When she returned, one of her dresses caught the interest of Kleinfeld's eye. Thus, Pnina became one of Kleinfled's wedding dress designers. The bridal shop opened an in-store boutique
for Pnina's dresses, after only two years of designing for the store. She received this gift because she was the store's top vendor. This was a privilege that no other designer at Kleinfeld's received. Pnina now spends 2 weeks out of every month in New York City
, during which helps clients with creating dresses and holding trunk shows. She includes her family in this aspect of her life, her sister, Kochav, is her make up artist. Although she has hired seamstresses since the start, she still has a say in every dresses that is sold. Along with visiting the New York City
store, she spends one weekend every two months checking up on her five stores in Athens
. She checks over the dresses to make sure that all aspects are correct and she designs everyone one of her dresses. Her dresses can now be found in stores in Tel Aviv
, Athens
and Kleinfeld in New York City
.
Pnina's original dream was to be an actress and her dream came true when she starred in a sitom in Israel. She plays the role of wife of the main character in Polishuk, which is political sitcom. Along with that she will be hosting a show titled Ten Years Younger
in Ten Days, which is filmed in Israel.
. Pnina Tornai's signature corset
s are embellished with Swarovski crystals and precious stones.According to the New York Times the dresses are considered "vixenish." Although this was said about her dresses she tries to make a dresses that will work for every bride. Tornai has a line of dresses that are specialized for Jewish and Muslim
brides who are religious. She tries to meet the needs of the customer, which can be seen when in one episode of Say Yes to the Dress
, she made a customized red dress for an Indian
bride, who was keeping tradition in mind. Pnina's 2008 bridal collection was infused with floral designs on the corsets, silk pantsuits and spaghetti strapped dress that had scalloped hemlines. All of these dresses were inspired by the song La Vie en Rose, a love song, by Édith Piaf
.
The dresses in her 2012 bridal collection are adorned with pearls. Pnina utilized pearl
s because she recalls her late mother and grandmother always wearing pearls when they left the house. Pnina's 2012 collection consists of silk, satin, lace and is topped with pearls and jewels. This collection is dedicated to her mother because, along with her grandmother, she recalls her mother always wearing pearls. After the passing of her mother she was upset and a friend helped her through by comparing tears to pearls, thus the idea for this collection emerged. The collection is based on tears of joy, which translates to pearls of joy for a bride on her wedding day.
Eva Bryan, NASCAR
driver Kurt Busch
's wife, sported a Pnina Tornai wedding gown at their wedding. Ashanti has also been seen wearing Pnina Tornai in an appearance on MTV
's TRL
.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. She has a made a name for herself by selling dresses in Kleinfeld Bridal salon on the television show Say Yes to the Dress
Say Yes to the Dress
Say Yes to the Dress is a TLC reality series which follows events at Kleinfeld Bridal in New York City. The series shows the progress of individual sales associates, managers, and fitters at the store, along with profiling brides as they search for the perfect wedding dress...
. She started out with a dream to be an actress but that got put aside when her third husband convinced her to bring her dresses to Kleinfeld Bridal Salon. Pnina's designs were rejected at the start but she did not give up, instead she later returned. This time her new designs were accepted and she has been Kleinfeld's best seller since. She never took a sewing lesson and her designs are wanted by brides across the world.
Pnina's life
Pnina Tornai was born to Shai Assis and Ruth Assis in 1962, she is the oldest of his four daughters. Pnina was given the name Perla at birth, her grandmother's name. In Hebrew Perla translates to Pnina, thus she was called Pnina. Her father, an Israel diplomat, is from Alexandria and her mother was from Tangiers. As a child she dreamed of being an actress but she put her dreams to the side and instead she went to high schoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
. After she finished high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
, she enlisted for military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
service. In Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, when a male or female turns 18, he or she must enlist in the military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
. Once her stint in the military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
ended, she decided to pursue her acting career by enrolling in acting school in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. Pnina married David Charles Meshulam in 1984, the two had a son. Her son, who resides in a suburb Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
called B'nai Brak, is 26. He is currently studying the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
full time, which he has done since he became religious many years ago. Pnina had a love for acting, but her first husband convinced her to quit acting school. She then married husband number two and divorced him. After him she got married to her third husband, David Levinshtein, in March of 2000. David attended UCLA, where he received a master's degree in business. David was the man who persuaded Pnina into bringing some of her designs to Kleinfeld, when the two were in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Pnina's mother passed away in December of 2010. She now resides in Ramat Hasharon
Ramat Hasharon
Ramat HaSharon is a city located on Israel's central coastal strip in the south of the Sharon region, bordering Tel Aviv to the south and Herzliya and Kibbutz Glil Yam to the north. It is part of the Tel Aviv District, within Gush Dan metropolitan area...
.
Career
After Pnina's time in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
she returned to Isreal, with her son, and knew that she needed to make money. In her thirties, she opened a small store in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, with only one seamstress to help, she herself had never taken a sewing lesson. The two began creating evening and everyday day gowns. Pnina started making dresses for more then just her clientele in her shop, around 1992, when a women asked her to make her a wedding dress which mirrored an evening gown
Evening gown
An evening gown is a long flowing women's dress usually worn to a formal affair. It ranges from tea and ballerina to full-length. Evening gowns are often made of a luxury fabric such as chiffon, velvet, satin, or silk...
that the woman had seen in the shop window. Pnina accepted the challenge. When the woman married her fiancé, the photo of their wedding made the front page of an Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
newspaper. When other brides saw the picture, they asked her to replicate the dress, this situation was what launched her career. Pnina then turned her store into a wedding dress salon and began selling dresses from this store.
In 2005, Pnina first showed her dresses to Kleinfeld, they denied her designs because of her use of lace
Lace
Lace is an openwork fabric, patterned with open holes in the work, made by machine or by hand. The holes can be formed via removal of threads or cloth from a previously woven fabric, but more often open spaces are created as part of the lace fabric. Lace-making is an ancient craft. True lace was...
in the dresses. Pnina did not give up, instead she redesigned her dresses to match the style of a Kleinfeld's dress and returned a while later. When she returned, one of her dresses caught the interest of Kleinfeld's eye. Thus, Pnina became one of Kleinfled's wedding dress designers. The bridal shop opened an in-store boutique
Boutique
A boutique is a small shopping outlet, especially one that specializes in elite and fashionable items such as clothing and jewelry. The word is French for "shop", via Latin from Greek ἀποθήκη , "storehouse"....
for Pnina's dresses, after only two years of designing for the store. She received this gift because she was the store's top vendor. This was a privilege that no other designer at Kleinfeld's received. Pnina now spends 2 weeks out of every month in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, during which helps clients with creating dresses and holding trunk shows. She includes her family in this aspect of her life, her sister, Kochav, is her make up artist. Although she has hired seamstresses since the start, she still has a say in every dresses that is sold. Along with visiting the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
store, she spends one weekend every two months checking up on her five stores in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. She checks over the dresses to make sure that all aspects are correct and she designs everyone one of her dresses. Her dresses can now be found in stores in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
and Kleinfeld in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Pnina's original dream was to be an actress and her dream came true when she starred in a sitom in Israel. She plays the role of wife of the main character in Polishuk, which is political sitcom. Along with that she will be hosting a show titled Ten Years Younger
Ten Years Younger
10 Years Younger, also abbreviated as 10YY, is a makeover show on The Learning Channel. The aim of the show is to make a woman or man who looks older than they are look, as the title suggests, ten years younger...
in Ten Days, which is filmed in Israel.
Pnina's Dresses
Pnina creates dresses while she is dreaming, that is how she knows exactly which fabrics she wants to use and how the dresses should look. These dreamed up dresses become reality when they are hand sewn using fabrics directly imported from EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Pnina Tornai's signature corset
Corset
A corset is a garment worn to hold and shape the torso into a desired shape for aesthetic or medical purposes...
s are embellished with Swarovski crystals and precious stones.According to the New York Times the dresses are considered "vixenish." Although this was said about her dresses she tries to make a dresses that will work for every bride. Tornai has a line of dresses that are specialized for Jewish and Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
brides who are religious. She tries to meet the needs of the customer, which can be seen when in one episode of Say Yes to the Dress
Say Yes to the Dress
Say Yes to the Dress is a TLC reality series which follows events at Kleinfeld Bridal in New York City. The series shows the progress of individual sales associates, managers, and fitters at the store, along with profiling brides as they search for the perfect wedding dress...
, she made a customized red dress for an Indian
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
bride, who was keeping tradition in mind. Pnina's 2008 bridal collection was infused with floral designs on the corsets, silk pantsuits and spaghetti strapped dress that had scalloped hemlines. All of these dresses were inspired by the song La Vie en Rose, a love song, by Édith Piaf
Édith Piaf
Édith Piaf , born Édith Giovanna Gassion, was a French singer and cultural icon who became widely regarded as France's greatest popular singer. Her singing reflected her life, with her specialty being ballads...
.
The dresses in her 2012 bridal collection are adorned with pearls. Pnina utilized pearl
Pearl
A pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other...
s because she recalls her late mother and grandmother always wearing pearls when they left the house. Pnina's 2012 collection consists of silk, satin, lace and is topped with pearls and jewels. This collection is dedicated to her mother because, along with her grandmother, she recalls her mother always wearing pearls. After the passing of her mother she was upset and a friend helped her through by comparing tears to pearls, thus the idea for this collection emerged. The collection is based on tears of joy, which translates to pearls of joy for a bride on her wedding day.
Eva Bryan, NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
driver Kurt Busch
Kurt Busch
Kurt Thomas Busch is an American NASCAR and NHRA driver. He drives the No. 22 Shell Oil Company/Pennzoil Dodge Charger in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and will race on an "opportunity permitting" basis in the Pro Stock division of NHRA...
's wife, sported a Pnina Tornai wedding gown at their wedding. Ashanti has also been seen wearing Pnina Tornai in an appearance on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's TRL
TRL
TRL sometimes refers to the television show Total Request Live.TRL may also refer to:* Tariff Reform League, a British pressure group* Telstra Research Laboratories, an Australian telecommunications research centre...
.