Pnina Tornai facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Pnina Tornai
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| פנינה טורנה | |
Tornai in 2008
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| Born | November 25, 1962 Ramat HaSharon, Israel
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| Occupation | Fashion designer, reality and daytime television personality |
| Known for | Starring on TLC's Say Yes to the Dress and on American daytime television |
| Height | 1.54 m (5 ft 1 in) |
| Children | 1 |
Pnina Tornai (Hebrew: פנינה טורנה; born November 25, 1962) is a famous fashion designer from Israel. She is well-known for creating beautiful wedding dresses. You might have seen her and her amazing gowns on the TV show Say Yes to the Dress on TLC. Her dresses are very popular at Kleinfeld Bridal, a famous bridal store.
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About Pnina Tornai
Pnina Tornai was born in Ramat HaSharon, Israel. Her parents, Shaul and Ruth Assis, came from Egypt and Morocco. Pnina is the oldest of four sisters. When she was born, she was named Pearl after her grandmother. In Hebrew, Pearl is called Pnina, which is how she got her name.
Her father was a diplomat from Alexandria, Egypt. Her mother was from Tangier, Morocco. As a child, Pnina dreamed of becoming an actress.
Early Life and Dreams
After finishing high school, Pnina joined Israel's military service. This is a common thing for young people to do in Israel. After her military service, she decided to follow her dream of acting. She went to acting school in Paris, France. While in Paris, she got married and had her son, David.
Pnina on TV
Besides her many appearances on Say Yes to the Dress, Pnina has been on other TV shows around the world. She was on 10 Years Younger. She also appeared on news shows like Good Morning America and What Would You Do?.
In 2009, Pnina was on the Israeli version of Big Brother VIP. She also loves to cook and showed off her skills on MasterChef VIP in 2015. Pnina enjoys entertaining guests. She loves gardening and collecting old, fancy fashion items. She developed this hobby while living in Paris for ten years.
Pnina's Fashion Journey
After her time in Paris, Pnina returned to Israel with her son. She opened a small shop in Tel Aviv. At first, she had only one seamstress helping her. They started by making everyday and evening gowns.
How Wedding Dresses Started
Pnina began making wedding dresses in 1992. A woman saw an evening gown in her shop and asked if Pnina could make a wedding dress like it. Pnina took on the challenge. When the woman got married, a photo of her wedding was on the front page of an Israeli newspaper. Other brides-to-be saw the picture and wanted a similar dress. This is how Pnina's career in wedding dresses began! She turned her shop into a special place just for wedding dresses.
Becoming a Top Designer
Pnina Tornai worked hard to get her dresses into Kleinfeld Bridal in New York. At first, it was tough, but she didn't give up. She made some changes to her designs and tried again. Soon, one of her dresses caught everyone's eye. She quickly became one of Kleinfeld's top wedding dress designers.
A special Pnina Tornai bridal shop was opened inside Kleinfeld just for her dresses. In only two years, she became the store's best-selling designer. Pnina is the only designer to have her own dedicated space within Kleinfeld. Brides from all over the world travel to New York to meet her at her boutique. Pnina truly cares about each bride and feels honored to dress them for their special day.
Pnina's Global Reach
Today, Pnina spends two weeks each month in New York City. There, she meets with brides to help create their dream dresses. She also holds special events called "trunk shows." Even though she has many seamstresses, she still has a say in every dress that is sold. When she's not in New York, she travels to visit her other stores. Her beautiful creations are sold in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Israel, Italy, Germany, China, and South Korea.
Much of Pnina's design ideas come from her travels to exciting places. She loves to experience new cultures and beautiful surroundings. This helps her "see things differently," as if for the very first time.
Pnina also includes her family in her business. Her husband, David Levinshtein, is her business manager. Her sister, Kochav, is her makeup artist, and her son is her graphic designer.
Pnina's Design Style
Pnina Tornai often dreams up her dress designs. She works hard to help every bride feel like an "inner princess." This idea inspires the fabrics and designs she chooses. After she finishes the designs, her very feminine wedding gowns are sewn by hand. The fabrics are brought directly from Europe.
Signature Details
Pnina's special style includes corsets that hug the body. These are decorated with sparkling Swarovski crystals and other precious stones. The New York Times newspaper has called her dresses "vixenish," meaning they are bold and attractive.
Her love for design was inspired by her Moroccan mother and Egyptian father. They showed her many colorful cultural ceremonies and celebrations when she was young. Her passion for beauty and tiny details grew. She wanted to create gowns that showed off her unique heritage. Today, she even has a line of dresses made specially for religious Jewish and Muslim brides. She once made a custom red dress for an Indian bride who wanted a traditional Indian style.
Pnina always tries her best to meet what the customer needs. You can see this in many episodes of Say Yes to the Dress.
Expanding the Brand
The Pnina Tornai brand has grown to include more than just dresses. She now designs footwear, accessories, headpieces, jewelry, and even fragrance. All these items match the fancy style of her brand. She recently added evening gowns to her collection. She also designs kaftans, which are long, loose dresses that connect to her heritage.
Pnina's Collections
New collections of Pnina Tornai's dresses are shown at international bridal events and fashion shows. They are also featured in bridal magazines.
Water-Inspired Collection (2016)
Pnina's 2016 runway collection was photographed in a dry desert. This collection was a tribute to water. It showed how water flows and mixes with wind and sand to create new energy. She was inspired by how wind moves water, making beautiful reflections of light. She also thought about how waves break and fluff as they hit the sand.
Pnina used water-like crystals, coral lace, wavy ruffles, and water-like pearls in this collection. Each gown had details that reminded people of the natural rhythm of the world. This collection also showed her commitment to helping the environment.
Pearls of Joy Collection (2012)
Pnina's 2012 collection featured gowns made of silk, satin, and lace. They were decorated with pearls and jewels. Pnina used pearls because her late mother and grandmother always wore them when they went out. After her mother passed away, a friend helped her through her sadness by comparing tears to pearls. This gave her the idea for the collection. The collection was based on "tears of joy," which she thought of as "pearls of joy" for a bride on her wedding day.
La Vie en Rose Collection (2008)
Pnina's 2008 bridal collection had floral designs on the corsets. It also included silk pantsuits and spaghetti-strapped dresses with wavy hemlines. All these dresses were inspired by the famous love song "La Vie en rose" by Édith Piaf.
Images for kids
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Pnina Tornai in 2008
