“I am not afraid to be a role model for girls as I have always had a positive way of life which people admire”

Noa Beny has performed for Israel’s biggest basketball team, X-Factor and for Israel’s most well known musicians and singers. Two years ago she met her best friend Neta Alchimister and since then the two started their own bikini line named Bananahot. The bikini line immediately took off with international requests within months and we had a little chat with her now.

Photography and interview by Lauren Engel

Tell us about your upbringing
Since a young age, I was a dancer. I first went to art school and then to dance school. I started dancing at the age of 6 and danced from early morning until night. We learned all types of dance in school, modern and classical including ballet and in the afternoon, I took private dance lessons and did hip hop and jazz. When I was 16 I was a cheerleader for the biggest basketball team in Israel, then I went on to perform with all types of singers in Israel. I also competed in X-Factor with a group of dancers and I was also flown to Russia to dance. I think I am less busy now. Well, a different kind of busy. It’s less of a physical busy now, currently it’s more of a ‘fun busy.’

What happened after dancing?
After dancing I was in the army in Israel for two years as the secretary of high office and when I finished I was thinking what I should do. I had the idea of becoming a fashion designer so I tried that out for a while but decided that it wasn´t my thing after all.

How did you and Neta meet?
People used to tell me that we both look very similar. When we first met we immediately klicked. We are similar in many ways. Afterwards, two years ago, we started thinking about starting a bikini line and officially started in January 2014.

Did you have a mentor when starting Bananahot?
We didn’t, we did research from the beginning on how to start and found out everything ourselves. The reason we decided to start designing bikinis was due to the fact that there were not a lot of companies that make small cut bikinis. Every time we bought bikinis we found ourselves wanting to alter some elements of it. Since we kept altering bikinis we thought maybe we should start designing them ourselves. We found someone who could sew, now we have three sewers. Neta and I would go and choose the materials ourselves and decide on the design and combination.

How did you think of the name – Bananahot?
My friend Eli helped us decide the name. We decided because of the two N’s in the middle for Noa and Neta, Banan-Beny is my middle name and then it´s Neta Hot. It all came together very quickly, after creating the bikinis we started selling all over the world within one or two months. A large portion of our customers are based in Australia and Israel.

“Every time we bought bikinis we found ourselves wanting to alter some elements of it.”

Do you have a store yet or plans for one?
We have a showroom for the girls in Israel. Girls in Israel buy a lot of underwear and bikinis and they want to try them on so they come into the showroom. A large portion of them also want to meet Neta and me. In Israel we are relatively well known. Neta is more well known because she models as well. I personally am not as keen with modeling, however, after a few months I tried to model my own bikinis and found it better than I originally thought. We also sell our bikinis in Mykonos, in Canada and Miami.

Do you have a team or do you still do everything yourself?
We do everything ourselves. Our friend Eli, works with us and helps with Fedex and shipment with the orders. She has our business phone and answers the requests from bloggers. We have a lot of demand from bloggers around the world to write about our bikinis. Once Candice Swanespoel commented on one of our Instagram photos and we immediately sent her a direct message which she responded to and requested a few pieces in a variety colours. We sent the pieces to her and she posted a selfie wearing one.

Were you famous before social media?
Before Instagram people in Israel knew me but after Instagram we were able to internationally reach people. There were also a lot of reality TV shows that reached out to Neta and me asking us to participate, however, we felt that this isn’t the route we wanted to get into.

Would you say that you are a role model for girls?
In some ways yes. I am not afraid to be one as I have always had a positive way of life which people admire.

What do you have in mind for the future of Bananahot?
We might do a swimwear for men, but we want to see how the next year goes. Some of the biggest clothing companies in Israel are reaching out to us. However, currently Neta and I still prefer to take charge of our company. We have a great relationship together. Maybe in a year we will think about doing something else but currently we just want it to be the two of us. Our designs are getting well-known in Israel and I’ve heard that girls would show pictures of our bikinis to fashion shops in Israel asking if they can remake the designs. (laughs)

Do people in Israel look towards the USA and Europe for fashion inspiration or do they prefer to seek local fashion?
We like to wear our own style. Of course America is the ‘big brother’ of all things. However, I don’t think that American swimwear companies are phenomenal. We look to Australia, there are a large amount of talented bikini designers there.

Do you plan to live in Israel in the future or do you plan to move to another country?
(Laughs) This is a big question! I love Israel and living there but I also love to travel a lot. Maybe in a few years I will want to leave and try living in another country. We will see, as the business now is so new. For my bikini line I want to stay in my country and see it getting more successful over here.