On February 5th, 2021, Israeli fashion designer and activist Ruth Dayan passed away. Born in Haifa on March 6, 1917, to Russian parents, Ruth spent much of her childhood in London, England, after her parents—both of whom were socialist activists—wanted her to study at a university there. When she was nine years old, the family returned to Haifa, where her father worked as a lecturer and her mother taught kindergarten. Dayan eventually dropped out of high school to learn farming and agriculture at a school in Nahalal. At Nahalal, she met Moshe Dayan, the future Israeli Minister of Defense, with whom she fell in love and eventually married. The young couple lived a life fueled by socialist ideals as they worked in farming. In 1948, Ruth joined an Israeli women’s organization that taught farm skills to new Jewish immigrants. After noticing the clothes and lacework that a group of Bulgarian women had brought with them, Dayan became inspired to start working in textiles, as it provided a better source of income than farming; the Bulgarian women made bags that Dayan sold on their behalf. By the 1950s, Dayan’s craft program had turned into a fashion brand, Maskit (meaning jewel in Hebrew).Maskit soon opened stores in Haifa, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem, selling clothing, jewelry, and other textiles. The company soon gained worldwide acclaim, having collaborations with top designers, including Givenchy and Christian Dior; at one point, fashion icon and actress Audrey Hepburn was seen wearing Maskit clothing. By the late 1960s, Maskit had become a household name. The brand meshed modern clothing with tradition in a way like no other. Described as an activist brand, Dayan provided over 2,000 jobs to Israeli immigrant women. While building her brand, Dayan was also active in Bedouin welfare and rights, as well as women’s causes. She later co-founded the children’s charity organization Variety Israel as well as the Jewish-Arab social group Brit Bnei Shem.