Though his family is not chasidic, Yinon Badichi grew up in a chasidic enclave in Jerusalem where everyone, it seemed, dressed identically. “The men wore the same black shoes, the same black pants and same black hat,” says the 33-year-old fashion designer turned entrepreneur. “The only thing that really defined them was the buckle [of their belts].”
After attending Netiv Meir (“the Harvard of yeshivas,” according to Badichi, “where I was better at basketball than as a student,”), and serving in the prestigious Golani unit of the Israeli army for three years, Badichi decided to move to China. “Everything we wear and use is made in China,” he says. “So I said, ‘I need to move to China.’”

There, he started his first company, Joseph Kauffman, which sells outerwear. At the time, Badichi struggled to find the perfect belt: a black textured leather belt that was the right length and came with a brass buckle that was at the same time understated but not generic. His search for such a belt led him to identify an untapped niche market: custom belts.

“Today, you can customize everything, from your tuxedo to your pants to your shirt and even your shoes,” he says. “Soon you can even customize people. But you can’t customize your belt — you have to buy it off the rack.”

And the belt, in Badichi’s viewpoint, is “the last touch of an outfit … it’s very important.”

Along with his brother, Badichi opened a factory in Jerusalem, where the fine Italian leather he imports is cut. He launched his first customized belt boutique in Tel Aviv in 2001 and has since expanded to five stores in Israel. But his dream was always to open a store in Manhattan.

That’s where the connections he made in China really paid off. He shared his business idea with Jerome Kaplan, the father of a former roommate who is a math professor and owns a publishing company. Kaplan “loved the concept,” Badichi says, and invested a significant sum.

This Tuesday, the Badichi belt boutique (http://badichibelts.com) celebrated its grand opening in the heart of Soho, just blocks from the Israeli soap company Sabon. “Every second store [on Prince Street] belongs to some Israeli,” he jokes. “Just look at the mezuzah.”

The former copy shop has been transformed into an inviting space complete with racks of leather belts in a variety of sizes and colors, and rows upon rows of buckles — from basic brass buckles to edgy buckles bearing images of skulls and snakes. Badichi also offers crystal-encrusted floral buckles hand-painted by an Israeli artist named Ahuva. Prices start at $60.

The store prides itself on being the only boutique offering customers the opportunity to personalize their belts and have them sized on the spot. “It looks simple, but you have to know so many little details, like how big the holes need to be,” Badichi says.

Behind the counter stands a press machine and a 100-year old splitter machine (used to cut leather), which Badichi tracked down in Texas; the machine had originally been imported from France.

When asked how he imagines the Israeli belt boutique will fare in New York, Badichi was optimistic. “In Israel, everyone wants to be prime minister. Even the man cleaning the street; you ask him what his dream is, and he says, ‘I want to be prime minister.’” Not so in America. “People want to be what they are.”

This American attitude will translate well for business, he hopes. “People want to be their own designers; no one wants to wear a belt everyone else is wearing.”

Email: Tamar@jewishweek.org