Profile: Tal Zohar – Real Leather Design Competitions

Tal Zohar

Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art

I’m Tal Zohar, a third year fashion design student at Shenkar, based in Tel Aviv. I specialize in leather and unconventional materials, with a strong focus on natural, organic and animal based materials. I’m interested in how these materials can be reinterpreted and used in new ways within contemporary fashion. Leather is the central material I work with across my projects. Through it, I am able to express myself and my world in the most accurate and meaningful way. It allows me to translate ideas, emotions and atmospheres into something tangible, while exploring texture, structure and form in a direct and physical way. My work is very personal and comes from my experiences, both past and present, as well as dreams and imagined futures. I draw inspiration from history, different cultures and emotional moments, translating them into visual and material language. Each project develops through material exploration and in depth research into historical periods, aesthetics and material cultures. I focus on creating a strong atmosphere and building a complete aesthetic world around each concept. Through my work I aim to create pieces that feel intentional, expressive and long lasting, while continuing to develop my own voice as a designer.

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The Neo-Heritage Tennis Club

Category: Apparel

Competitions: International

The project explores the world of tennis and its evolving aesthetic across time, combining personal memory with historical research. I played tennis from the age of six to eleven, and as a rebellious and energetic child, the court became a place of calm and focus. The visual language of tennis has always drawn me in through its clarity, precision and structured environment. The research focuses on two key periods: the 1920s, influenced by Suzanne Lenglen, who redefined femininity on the court through movement and lighter silhouettes, and the 1970s, inspired by Björn Borg, who introduced a new sense of color, presence and attitude to the game. The design is constructed using over 50% Italian cow leather by surface area, combined with Italian lamb leather and natural materials. Leather is the central material in this project, allowing me to express ideas and emotions in a direct and tactile way while exploring texture, structure and form. The jacket is developed using a leather quilting technique, with a strong focus on precision and clean construction, referencing the lines of the court and the geometry of the tennis ball. The color palette is drawn from tennis courts and surfaces, incorporating tones of brown, green and white. All additional textiles are natural and made of 100% cotton. The project reflects a personal approach to design, combining material research, historical references and emotional narrative to create a cohesive and contemporary aesthetic world. Working with natural and organic materials is a central value in my practice as a designer, guiding both my material choices and the way I approach design.