
REVIVALIST
APPAREL
COLLECTION // HELICOPTER HEART
The Helicopter Heart Collection honors the incomprehensible resilience and joy of life of Ofer Calderon, a recently released Israeli hostage. Ofer Calderon, a 54 year-old father of four, who had been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, was released on February 1, 2025 after 484 days of harrowing captivity, where he was kept in a cage and beaten, and up until a couple of weeks before his release was under the impression that his son was dead. During his helicopter journey back to Israel, Ofer made his first public gesture: he drew a heart on a whiteboard, a simple yet profound message to us all. Upon his arrival, he was taken by van to a Tel Aviv hospital to reunite with his family. Friends from his bicycling club accompanied the van all the way. At a certain point, Ofer made the van pull over so he could come out and greet his club friends, blowing kisses, and raising his fist in triumph. On his way back to Israel, he asked the IDF soldiers accompanying him if he could have a beer, but was told he needed to take it easy as he was still very weak. He had only been free for a matter of hours, and yet his mind-blowing resilience and joy for life had already inspired us, a testament to human strength and the power of the Jewish people.
Ofer, you have given me so much strength, so much inspiration, there are no words. I hope this will work. You're a hero, THANK YOU!