Castro (clothing)

History

The company was founded by Aaron Castro, a Sephardic Jew from Thessaloniki, Greece, whose family immigrated to Israel when he was a young boy. His mother, Anina, was a professional dressmaker and designer who sewed for private clients.

In the 1950s, Castro opened a small corner store in Tel Aviv called Nina, named for his mother. As the business grew and the basement of the store became a small factory producing ready-to-wear clothing, the name was changed to Castro. In the 1960s, Castro clothing was also sold at department stores such as Hamashbir Letzarchan and Shekem. In 1965, Castro moved to direct marketing with "Rio", a factory outlet in Tel Aviv.

In 1975, Castro began exporting its clothing to Europe. Castro's flagship store opened on Dizengoff Street in 1985, and branches were established all over the country. By the 1990s, Castro had over 1544 workers. In 1992, Castro filed its IPO, going public. In 1994, Castro launched its cosmetics line through a licensing agreement. Castro has designed the Israeli team uniforms for the Olympics since 1996. Castro won Israel's fashion "Oscar."

In August 2000, Castro opened Castro Men. Also, 2003 saw the beginning of international expansion with stores in Germany. In 2005, Castro entered into a joint (50%) ownership of an international accessories chain, DIVA, with England-based DCK Concessions and today has 23 stores.

In 2007, Castro launched its Castro Jeans line.

Since 2008, Gal Gadot has been a leading model and fashion show host for Castro. In 2014, she appeared in a commercial for Castro's new "Push-Up" jeans, showing her and two backup dancers twerking in the jeans.

In 2013, Castro decided to expand its women's and men's fashion collections and added a children's line. In the same year, the pop singer Ivri Lider designed a men's collection for Castro.

In 2014, Castro opened its online store. The items on the website are sold internationally.

In 2018, Castro bought the Hoodies group outright in a share swap deal, making Castro the largest publicly traded fashion company in the country.

Spokesmodels

• Romi Aboulafia
• Aviv Alush
• Rotem Sela
• Yael Abecassis
• Gal Gadot
• Daniel Litman
• Yael Goldman
• Becky Griffin
• Galit Gutmann
• Bar Refaeli
• Esti Ginzburg
• Melanie Peres
• Neta Alchimister
• Dar Zuzovsky

References

References

1. [https://www.google.com/finance/quote/CAST:TLV Google Finance]
2. "Castro: About Us".
3. [https://www.haaretz.com/culture/.premium-1.541389 Castro’s new fall collection - two collections, actually], [[Haaretz]]
4. [http://www.castro.com/490-en-r4/Castro.aspx Castro corporate: About Us] {{webarchive. link. (2011-07-08)
5. Cashman, Greer Fay (14 September 2017). [https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/fashion-pioneer-aaron-castro-dead-at-84-505126 Fashion pioneer Aaron Castro dead at 84] ''The Jerusalem Post''. Retrieved on 8 January 2026.
6. [https://www.jpost.com/Features/In-Thespotlight/Grapevine-Shining-stars-in-Israels-fading-fashion-industry-322938 Shining stars in Israel's fading fashion industry]
7. (June 2019)
8. [https://www.haaretz.com/culture/israeli-fashion-retailer-torn-between-daring-spirit-and-need-to-please-the-masses.premium-1.503128 Israeli fashion retailer torn between daring spirit and need to please the masses], [[Haaretz]]
9. Ohayon, Hilla (9 October 2013). [https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/culture/2013-10-09/ty-article/.premium/pop-star-designs-fashion-dont-expect-stripes/0000017f-e033-db22-a17f-fcb3eec90000 When an Israeli Pop Star Turns Fashion Designer] ''Haaretz''. Retrieved on 8 January 2026.
10. Moses, Shany (25 June 2018). [https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-castro-buys-hoodies-outright-in-share-swap-deal-1001242871 Castro buys Hoodies outright in share swap deal] ''Globes''. Retrieved on 8 January 2026.
11. (5 September 2017). [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWiqQsOAjdE Rotem Sela and Aviv Alush in Castro's holiday collection] ''Castro''. Retrieved on 9 January 2026.
12. (9 May 2025). [https://tmi.maariv.co.il/celebs-news/article-1194763 Why would Daniel Litman turn down the tole of a hostage?] ''Maariv''. Retrieved on 9 January 2026.
13. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Op7r5FGH4p8 קסטרו מציגה: A SECRET SUMMER STORY] Castro. Retrieved on 9 January 2026.