Julia Haart

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Julia Haart
Julia Haart.jpg
Julia Haart in 2019
Born
Julia Leibov

(1971-04-11) 11 April 1971 (age 50)
Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Russia)
Years active2013 - present
Label(s)
Spouse(s)
Yosef Hendler
​
(divorced)​

Silvio Scaglia

Julia Haart (born April 11, 1971) is an American fashion designer and entrepreneur. She is the CEO of Elite World Group, a company which she co-owns with her husband, Silvio Scaglia Haart.[1] She previously owned a namesake shoe collection, and was creative director at Italian luxury house La Perla.[2] Haart is also the subject of the Netflix miniseries My Unorthodox Life, which described her decision in 2013 to leave her Haredi community.

Biography[]

Early life[]

Haart was born in Moscow, Russia, in 1971. She and her parents left Russia when she was 3, and moved to Austin, Texas. In Austin, she attended private school, and was the school's only Jewish student. When Haart was in fourth grade, they moved to Monsey, New York, which has a large Haredi community that appealed to her parents, as they grew more religious.[3][4]

Haart attended Bais Yaakov Academy in Brooklyn, New York. At 16, she taught herself how to sew, and smuggled fashion magazines into her house.[5][4] When she was 18, she changed her first name, "to the more Hebrew-sounding Talia, in order to attract a match".[4] At 19, she married her first husband, a yeshiva student, five years her senior.[6]

Leaving the Haredi community[]

While living as a Haredi Jew in Atlanta throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Haart became increasingly uncomfortable with her community. The treatment of her younger daughter, Miriam, bothered her in particular.[4] In a 2021 interview with The New York Times, she said that her daughter "just wouldn't conform. They were doing to her what they had done to me — trying to push her down and mold her into that flat person that they could disappear. I couldn't let that happen."[7]

Haart also dealt with mental health issues, telling the Los Angeles Times in an interview that before leaving the community, she had contemplated suicide, but worried about how the stigma within the Haredi community would affect her children's shidduch prospects.[4] After leaving the community, she took on the name Julia Haart. The last name Haart is derived from her maiden name, Leibov, which is similar to Leiv, the Hebrew word for "heart".[4]

While working at La Perla, she met her future husband Silvio Scaglia, who was the brand owner at the time.[8] They married in 2019.[9]

Career[]

Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Haart worked as a Judaic Studies teacher at Yeshiva Atlanta; "staff who knew her at the time �� when she went by the name Talia Hendler – recalled that she was beloved by students and known for her sharp style".[6] For years, Talia secretly sold life insurance.[4]

After leaving the Haredi community in 2013, Haart founded a shoe company, Julia Haart, with the goal to make shoes that were both fashionable and comfortable. She partnered with a ski boot engineer and a German company that creates a gel used by NASA to create a comfortable high-heeled shoe.[10] Her shoes were eventually sold in 17 countries.[11]

In 2016, Haart collaborated with La Perla for their Spring and Fall 2016 accessory collections. The same year, she was named as the creative director for the brand. Following her appointment as Creative Director of La Perla, Haart launched a new approach to ready-to-wear for the company.[12] At La Perla, Haart created the first stretch Leavers lace, and launched a collection of ready-to-wear lingerie with built-in support. For her Fall/Winter 2017 fashion show, Haart constructed a "La Perla Manor" runway show, in which Naomi Campbell, Lindsey Wixson, Sasha Pivovarova and Kendall Jenner walked.[13] Haart is known for her 2017 Met Gala dress designed for Kendall Jenner. The gown consisted of 85,000 crystals affixed to a single string.[14]

In March 2019, she became CEO and CCO of the talent media conglomerate Elite World Group.[15] Under Haart's leadership EWG has re-focused the brand and added new divisions. Elite World Group prioritizes assisting models to monetise their brands and business projects.[16] Additionally, Haart is the creative director of e1972, a luxury fashion brand launched by Elite World.[17] The collection received a lot of positive media attention,[18] and was celebrated for its "innovation, inclusivity, and inspiring message of empowerment".[19]

Personal life[]

She has four children with her former husband, Yosef Hendler: Batsheva, Shlomo, Miriam, and Aron. Batsheva, who uses the last name Haart, is married to Binyamin "Benn" Weinstein, and is a social media influencer. Miriam has also changed her last name to Haart. Aron, who is in high school, splits his time between his parents in Manhattan and Monsey, New York.[20][8]

Haart is the oldest of eight children. One brother died in a car accident at age 5. Only one of her siblings, a sister named Hannah, has a relationship with Haart; her parents and other siblings stopped talking to her after she left her ultra-Orthodox community.[8]

My Unorthodox Life[]

Main article: My Unorthodox Life

Haart is the subject of the Netflix series My Unorthodox Life, which premiered in July 2021.[21] The docu-series follows the professional and personal life of Haart in her role as CEO of Elite World Group, author, mother and wife.[22] The show has been received critically by many Jewish community members.[23][24]

References[]

  1. ^ "Elite World Group is tapping modelling talent to build a media company". voguebusiness.com. Retrieved 2019-03-22.
  2. ^ "La Perla Announces New Creative Director". vogue.co.uk. 25 August 2016. Retrieved 2016-08-25.
  3. ^ Hanau, Shira (16 July 2021). "Julia Haart has a message for 'My Unorthodox Life' critics: Watch before you judge me". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Blake, Meredith (July 14, 2021). "She kept her ultra-Orthodox past secret. Now, she's using Netflix to tell her story". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  5. ^ Beg, Mirza Aaqib (July 14, 2021). "What is Julia Haart's Net Worth?". TheCinemaholic. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  6. ^ a b Connelly, Irene Katz (March 11, 2021). "Netflix will debut a follow-up to 'Unorthodox' — but it's not what you think". Forward.
  7. ^ Soloski, Alexis (July 13, 2021). "In 'My Unorthodox Life', Julia Haart Bares More Than Just Her Knees". The New York Times.
  8. ^ a b c Spiro, Amy. "From frum to fashion week: Julia Haart's 'Unorthodox' journey burns up Netflix". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  9. ^ "Fashion CEO Julia Haart found sexual freedom after leaving Orthodox life". 14 July 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  10. ^ Smail, Gretchen (July 13, 2021). "This Woman Left A Fundamentalist Community & Became A Fashion Mogul". Bustle.
  11. ^ Feldman, Dana (July 8, 2021). "New Netflix Reality Series 'My Unorthodox Life' Takes A Strong Stance Against Fundamentalism". Forbes.
  12. ^ "La Perla's wisdom: Creative director Julia Haart's mission of transformation". drapersonline.com. 13 February 2018. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
  13. ^ "Julia Haart Is Making La Perla About More Than Just Sexy Lingerie". observer.com. 15 March 2017. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
  14. ^ "Kendall Jenner Wore 85,000 Crystals Held Together By a Piece of String to the Met Gala". elle.com. May 2017. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  15. ^ "Pandemic accelerates power shift in fashion, advertising". Associated Press News. 20 April 2021.
  16. ^ Biondi, Annachiara (December 13, 2019). "Elite World Group is tapping modelling talent to build a media company". Vogue Business.
  17. ^ "Elite World to Launch Fashion Brand". wwd.com. 19 February 2019. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  18. ^ "Elite World's Julia Haart Debuts e1972 on The Runway". Vogue. 9 February 2020.
  19. ^ "Does a Powerhouse Modeling Agency Need a Fashion Brand?".
  20. ^ Miller, Korin (2021-07-23). "Julia Haart's Daughter Miriam Is Training For The New York City Marathon RN". Women's Health. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  21. ^ "Netflix Orders New Series from Jeff Jenkins". Variety. 10 March 2021.
  22. ^ "Netflix Grows Docusoap Slate". Hollywood Reporter. 10 March 2021.
  23. ^ "How to Answer the Jewish Issues Raised in Netflix's "My Unorthodox Life"". 14 July 2021.
  24. ^ "My Unorthodox Life is Compelling TV That Could Make Life Harder for Some Jews".

External links[]

Retrieved from ""